The Fantasies of a Disturbed Mind
by sentimentalvalue
Summary: A new wu activates, and Chase wants it. But he gets a lot more than he bargained for...[COMPLETE at last!]
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all my old, and hopefully some new, fans! I've had this story idea for almost a year now! And I was actually going to post-pone writing it EVEN longer! Crazy I know. But I got tired of waiting and here it is! The plot may seem a little cliché at times, but please don't stop reading. I promise it will be good. I'm sure you've heard that a lot…but…well, just trust me, okay? All right everyone hates long author's notes, so on to the fic:**

**The Fantasies of a Disturbed Mind:**

"Shen gong wu alert!" Dojo screamed one morning. It was quite early and the monks lazily stumbled out of bed and struggled to get their clothes on quickly.

"What wu is it?" Omi yawned.

"It's called the…the…" Dojo stuttered, "that's funny…The scroll isn't working right. I can't get a clear picture."

The monks leaned towards the scroll hoping for a closer look.

"It looks like some sort of rock." Kimiko noted. The picture on the scroll kept showing a stone like object, then flickering to a blank image.

"You woke us up this early to go find a rock?" Rai asked angrily. "Look," he exclaimed. Rai walked over to a small rock garden and grabbed a random stone. "I found your wu!"

"I don't think it's that Raimundo." Clay stated.

"No time to talk children!" Dojo snapped. "I think I know what wu this is, and we can't let it fall into the wrong hands!" he said as he grew to his full size. "Now hop aboard!"

--

On the other side of China, Chase Young sat; meditating. His eyes were closed in concentration and he wasn't moving a muscle. When suddenly he opened one cat-like eye, and slowly lifted the other.

"Interesting," he said aloud to himself and got up from the floor. "I didn't think this wu would be reveled for quite some time…" He said in a thoughtful manner. "Oh well, " he chuckled, "it'll only make my job easier." And with that he disappeared in a blinding white light, off to get the wu.

--

"Dojo!" Kimiko screamed.

"What?" The dragon replied.

"Stop switching directions so much! You're making me feel sick!"

"Yeah, me too!" Rai responded, then grabbed Clay's hat just in case.

"I'm sorry," Dojo responded. "I remember burying this wu somewhere in Africa. But my senses are pointing me towards Italy." He told them. "I don't know where to go!"

"Trust your sense Dojo," Omi said, "Go to Italy!"

-Some where in Venice Italy-

"Father," A young girl called.

"Yes Linda?" A much older man sitting in a wheelchair asked.

"Father, my name is not Linda." The girl corrected. "My name is Erica, remember?" she asked. Her voice was soft and timid. She wore a long black skirt, and a black blouse. She had thick, curly black hair that was cut very short. She was short in height, and average in weight, but because she was in a completely black attire, and was wearing boots, she looked tall and slimming. And behind her thick black-rimmed glasses, were her big brown eyes.

Her over-all appearance was drab and boring. Nothing but black on her pale skin. But there was something that stood out. The one thing that wasn't boring. Around her neck was a small gold chain. But the chain wasn't what was interesting. At the end of the necklace was a beautiful, pale-blue gemstone. To most people it looked like a sapphire, or a blue diamond. But to the trained eye it was much, much more…

"Oh yes Erica!" The old man said excited. "And you're my…you're my wife, right?"

"No, daddy." Erica said. She was very patient with the man. "I am your daughter."

"Oh…" The man replied. He was getting very old, and was quite senile. He couldn't barley remember a thing. "And…and you're my wife, right?" He asked once more.

"Your wife died a very long time ago." Erica reminded him. A small frown spreading across her lips at the memory. "Would you like some lunch?" She changed the subject.

"Yes, yes I would." He responded. "Hey, do you know where my daughter is?" He asked.

"I am standing right here, father." She had to explain once more and she strolled through the kitchen trying to make him a sandwich.

"Where?" The old man asked. Erica sighed loudly.

"I think I am going to take a walk later today." She told him, ignoring the question. "Please do not get in to any trouble while I am gone."

"Okay Linda." The man replied. Erica sighed once more.

-

"Welcome to beautiful Venice, Italy!" Dojo announced after landing.

"It is beautiful!" Kimiko gushed, admiring a small gondola.

"No time to admire!" Omi snapped. "We need to find this wu!" he held up the scroll.

"It's this way!" Dojo pointed north.

-

"They'll lead me right to it." Chase snickered from his hiding place. He had been following the monks the entire time.

-

As Erica walked through her small home town, enjoying the scenery, she couldn't help but to keep looking at the sun. Squinting at it and worrying. A pale girl like her spent all her time indoors, helping her sick father. She rarely went outside, and for a good reason too…

She made her was to a small park. She was crossing over a stream when a small, yellow-skinned, bald boy pointed at her.

"There it is!" Omi yelled.

Erica was instantly frightened. She uttered a small scream then ran for it. She wasn't fast and the monks were about to catch up. But someone else got there first…

While looking back, Erica ran straight into the arms of none-other-than Chase Young.

"Release me please!" She begged as he tightened his grip.

"You have something I want." Chase responded coolly.

"What?" She said confused. Her gaze slowly shifted down to her necklace, which was now glowing. "No! You can not have it!" She struggled harder to get free.

"Stop!" The monks shouted running towards the villain and girl. But right before they reached her there was another white flash. The light cleared and Chase was gone. And the girl was no where to be seen…

-

**Sorry about all the time changing. This is the ONLY confusing chapter, promise. I've got ya hooked with that cliffy, right? (smiles) Good. And know what you're all thinking about Erica! But I swear she isn't gonna be another Mary-sue! Now review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hmm…I wanted to wait a little longer before posting this…:**

Not too long after the disaster in Venice, a white light appeared in Chase's abode. When it cleared he was standing there, still holding Erica. Erica was shaking in fear and her hands had slowly moved towards the necklace. She eventually grabbed the stone tightly. If Chase resorted to use force to get it from her, he wouldn't get it easy. But Chase was smarter than that…

Not to long after landing in his home he released the girl. Leaving her with a dazed, but still scared, expression.

"Follow me," He said and started walking away. Erica was too scared not to obey, and to dazed to think to run away, so she did what she was told like she usually does.

The Venetian girl slowly followed him. She went fast enough not to fall behind, but slow enough to enjoy the view, and look for help or an escape route.

After a few minute the two came to red door. Chase stopped. Erica stopped.

Silently as ever, Chase held the door open and motioned Erica to go in. Still confused, she listened.

The room the door lead to was rather large. But there was barely anything in it. In the back of the room there was a big red bed in the center of the room, complete with a canopy, silky sheets, and many exotic pillows. Near the door, the front of the room, was a long wooden dresser. Which Erica presumed to be empty, because the room seemed to be a guest room. This made her more nervous.

Chase followed her in the room and let the door shut. Erica became very tense. She backed up against the dresser so her back was no longer to the villain. If he tried anything, it wouldn't be a sneak attack.

But he wasn't interested in a sneak attack, he walked over towards the bed and pointed to it.

"Sit." He commanded.

"I-I," She stuttered as she broke out in a nervous sweat. "I would r-rather not s-sit right now, s-sir," she finished, "I-I really would much ra-rather stand t-then s-sit on the b-b-bed."

"Fine," He said coldly, "I'll sit." And he did.

The two were in the room for a long time just starring at each other. Neither moving, neither talking. Chase was simply observing, and his glance kept turning to the necklace, which she was still holding. Erica tried counting to ten to calm herself down. When ten didn't work she tried one hundred. When that wouldn't work she tried…Basically her "magic number" ended up being 3,461.

Yet she still wasn't completely calm when Chase decided to get up from the bed and walk over to her.

"May I have the necklace?" He asked, forcing the sweetest voice he had, "Or at least the gem at the end?"

"I a-am s-sorry, but n-n-no." Erica said.

"And why not?" He asked, his voice becoming mean again.

"It has been in my family for five generations," She managed to explain with out stuttering. "My mother gave it to me, and I intend on carrying on the tradition and giving it to my daughter…if I ever have one that is."

Chase stood there for a moment, starring into her eyes, trying to psych her out. When finally he slowly outstretched his right hand. Frightened by the move, Erica immediately jerked backwards.

Chase kept reaching, and Erica kept backing away until finally she was backed into a corner. With no where to go she stopped and closed her eyes tightly unable to watch whatever he would do.

But Chase barely did anything. Well, nothing to get afraid of. He grabbed the stone on the necklace but didn't yank it away. He just held it up at Erica's eye level.

She finally opened her eyes and focused on it.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked slowly.

"Yes…" She told the man.

"I mean really know!" Chase nearly shouted. "It's not just a necklace!"

"I know," She looked away. "It is a magical artifact, I believe," she said slowly. Chase beckoned her to continue. "and it is part of a collection called…shen gong wu…?"

"That is correct." Chase nodded. "Do you know what it is called, and what it does?"

"It is called the Amulet of Fantasies," She said slowly, wondering how much to tell him. "When you use it right, it calls upon all mythological creatures. You will instantly have an army of mermaids, phoenixes, and much more."

"Exactly." Chase said, "Now, do you know what it is often mistakenly called?"

'why do I have to answer all these question?' Erica wondered. But she wasn't nearly bold enough to ask that.

"It is often called the Jewel of the Vampires…" She answered.

"Why?" He asked.

"It primarily calls vampire when activated. And also…there is the curse…"

"Ah yes, the curse." Chase mused. "Dashi, smart man, certainly knew what he was doing when he put that curse on it."

"Dashi?" Erica said confused.

"Dashi is the man who created that necklace, and all the other shen gong wu." Chase explained. "Do you know what the curse does?"

"If someone is in possession of the necklace for a long period of time…it slowly starts to…it slowly starts to turn the user into a vampire. And once that happens they become part of the magical army." Erica said, small tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"But the process is slow," Chase continued for her. "It takes years before the effect even begins, and even longer for the body to change completely."

"My mother described the curse to me," Erica said. "She said that is slowly replaces your human cells with vampires ones. She told me it would be decades before the user would even become half-vampire." She finished. "Of course, she told me when I was only three. It did not make too much sense to me until a few years ago."

"What are cells?" Chase asked.

Erica blinked in confusion. "Surely you must know what cells are! They teach it in all the schools."

"Education was not very important in my time." Chase explained.

"Well…well, how old are? If you do not mind me asking…"

"Over fifteen hundred years." Chase told her.

"Fifteen hundred? You must be joking." Erica said. Chase had a stern face. "You are not?" he shook is head. Most people would have found this weird, but Erica did not. She herself was in possession of a magical artifact, and so non-ordinary things weren't always so strange to her.

"Why else do you think I know all these things? That wu around your neck, I was there when it was created!" Chase said. "Now, how do you know all these things?" His voice was starting to scare her even more.

"As I said, it has been in my family for a long time. Every mother passes it down to her daughter. I have all the info, it has been passed down to, but I do not know where my ancestors received the info originally." Erica told him, figuring the truth was better than a lie.

"Interesting…" Chase mused. "How old are you?"

"Seven-teen, sir."

"So by now, the curse has affected you…?"

"Not too much." Erica told him. "If I stay out in the sun a long time, I easily burn. And whenever I have something like steak, I always want it cooked very rare. I have barely been affected so far, but the curse is there." She explained. "I am slowly becoming a vampire." The tears started again.

"You know," Chase started, "if you get rid of the necklace, the curse will be lifted."

"I know," Erica whipped I tear. "But I can not. I promised my mother to uphold the tradition."

"Well break your promise!" Chase shouted.

"No," Erica said softly. "My mother died when I was only four. I will respect her final wish."

Chase scowled for a moment. "You are only making yourself suffer this way."

"I do not care." She sniffed.

"You are clearly upset about becoming a vampire one day!"

"I have learned to live with it." She simply said. "Now, if you do not mind, I really need to get back to my father. He needs me. So…may I please go?"

"You may go once I have the trinket."

"I told you, I really do not want to give you this necklace."

"Then you must activate it for me." Chase told her.

"What?" She asked confused.

"If you don't give me that, then you'll have to activate it for me." He said once more.

"But I can not do that!"

"Then you are stuck here until you see things my way." Chase said in a stoic manner. "I will have my army. One way or the other."

"But that is the kidnapping!" Erica gasped.

"So it is." Chase said and started to leave.

"You…" She stared. He turned around. "You…you are a…you are a little…" She stuttered. Then sighed. "You are a very mean person!" Erica was always too sweet to insult anyone, no matter how vile they truly were.

Chase chuckled and left. Leaving Erica in the silence.

**-**

**I am for some reason some-what disappointed with the way this chapter came out. It was important, of course. But I dunno. Hopefully I didn't confuse you to much! And I know the vampire thing seems a little strange now, but don't worry. Everything that happens WILL tie into the plot. Everything is important so takes notes! Anyway review, please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am SO sorry about that hiatus. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. You have to understand that right now I am going through the second toughest thing in my life, ever. Maybe even the first, it's pretty up there with that other thing…**

**Anyway, I've been horribly depressed and inconsolable. And I don't have any way of getting help. I've been dealing with it all on my own. Writing was one of the only things that brought me joy. But every time I smile now, it's like I punish myself for doing so. I make myself think about all the horrible things and just made myself stop being happy, even I was only happy for a short moment. That's why I had to quit writing. It made me happy. And every time I was happy, I just became worse. Or every time I started writing I'd get upset and have to stop, just because I was thinking about the situation. Conditions have yet to improve, and I'm still having trouble writing, but I don't care anymore. Even if things are getting worse, it's a long way to go before it comes utterly horrible. I'm sick of not letting myself happy. I'm sick of putting things off. I know I have to just get my freakin' priorities straight and keep my life from getting worse. So I'm writing again. My fics won't be updated as much as they used to be, but I will update. I know I'm fighting a loosing battle, but I shouldn't take it out on you guys.**

**ALRIGHT, I haven't written in ages, and now I'm punishing you with this long authors note! ON TO THE FIC ALREADY:**

Hours passed by and nothing happened. Erica was sitting on the bed whole time trying to analyze the situation. And trying to think of some way to escape. She didn't have any luck thinking of one at all. After crying and screaming made her feel silly she decided to explore. But was much to scared to leave the room. So she started searching through the dresser.

She found some tattered men's close that were to big and a hotel bible. Which needless to say, she thought was all to peculiar.

She was about to stop searching and sit back on the bed, when she noticed the north west corner of the room looked different. The entire wall to the room was like a cave, but this one wall looked like fake rock. Like, artificial cave or something.

She walked over to it and pressed gently. It was like rubber. The wall sprang back on a hinge and opened up into a small, closet-like, cylinder-shaped room. It was it's own mini cave. At first she hoped it was an escape rout, but quickly banish those thoughts.

Cutting through the middle of the room was small waterfall. Yeah, a waterfall. She thought it was weird to. In the floor of the room was a small hole, where the waterfall was draining to.

Erica finally concluded that the waterfall was a shower, and this room had some sort of primitive plumbing to it. She reached her hand and touched the water. It was incredibly cold, but she didn't mind. To most people a shower in that would've been unbearable, but Erica never liked hot showers. She took 'warm' showers, so to her the water was just a little cold. But she didn't exactly want to shower under a waterfall draining into a gaping hole in the floor. No, this wasn't something luxuries to her.

After pressing on all the walls hoping for more rooms or a passage way she sat back down on the bed; having nothing to do.

She was scared, hungry, cold, and worried. Very worried for her father. He was developing Alzheimer's and no one was there to help him!

Another hour passed, and then suddenly the door knob started to twist. Erica back against the wall instantly, stuffed amulet down her blouse and dove for a pillow, holding it like a shield.

As Erica looked away in fear, the door forced open. But Chase wasn't standing there. Wuya was.

"Do not come near me!" Erica instantly cried.

"Or what? You'll beat me with a pillow?" Wuya retorted. A small silence passed, then, realizing how pathetic her 'shield' was, Erica placed the pillow back and the bed and fluffed it slightly.

"So…um…hello, I am Erica." She said politely, wondering why she was introducing herself to a possible kidnapper.

"And I'm Wuya, pleasure to meet you." Wuya rolled her eyes, her voice thick with sarcasm; which Erica didn't catch onto.

"That is a strange a name." Erica blurted out with out thinking how rude it sounded.

"Yeah? Well so is Erica!" She retored.

Erica blinked in confusion. "How is Erica weird?"

"Because it's a boy's name with an 'a' added to it!"

"Oh…That is true. So if you do not mind me asking, why are in here?" Erica asked.

"Chase told me to come here." Wuya replied.

"But why?" Wuya didn't answer. She walked closer to Erica who started to tense up. Once Wuya was right near her, she circled Erica twice. Looking up and down searching her. Her eyes beady and wanting to discover a weakness.

"I can sense its presence, but why can't I find it…" Wuya mused out loud.

"F-f-find wh-what?" She stuttered, even though she knew what Wuya was looking for.

"Chase assured me you had it…" Wuya kept talking. "He probably just told you to hide it so I couldn't get it. That would be so like him. Little bastard." Wuya grumbled and swore under her breath.

"So are and this Chase fellow an…you know, an 'item'?" Erica changed the subject.

"Oh heaven's n-" Wuya started, then a sly smile spread across her lips. "I mean yes, yes, we ARE a couple." Wuya lied, unable to control her obvious crush on Chase. "Why, you interested?" She scowled.

"Oh, no. No I am not. I am, in fact, not sure who Chase even is. I assume he is the man that was in my room before, am I right?"

"If I knew who was in your room before then I'd say yes. Considering we're the only ones here, besides the animals, then I guess Chase was the guy you met."

"There are animals here?" Erica asked. With Chase she had been afraid, but with Wuya she felt like she could trust her a little.

"Look," Wuya practically snapped. "I'm only here because Chase told me to tell you that we're having dinner in a minute. The table is probably all set already, so just come with me." Wuya grabbed Erica's feeble arm and yanked her out of the room.

She dragged her by so fast Erica could barely see anything in large palace like place. Finally they reached Chase's thrown room, where a large dinning table was set up. Chase was already there, sipping his dragon soup.

There were twelve place settings but only three people eating. Erica sat herself down in the middle, near Chase. His eyes watched her the whole time, as if they were telling her to sit there.

Chase wasn't interested in a silent meal, and dove right into conversation.

"I never introduced myself. My name is Chase Young. This is my home, and also your until you give me the amulet."

"I am Erica." She said softly, then stared down her food, trying to figure out what it was. She saw some sort of weird steak dish and nibbled at it, it seemed like the safest thing. However she quickly found that everything tasted delicious.

"What school to you go to?" Chase asked. Even though he really had no interest in her school what-so-ever, he figured he should keep her talking so she might say something important.

"I dropped out of school to take care of my father." She stressed the sentence as much as she could hoping Chase would get the message.

He did.

"Can't someone else take care of the him?" He snapped.

"There is no one else. Well, no that is not true. There is my brother. But he lives in Rome with his girlfriend and never calls or visits. He probably does not even know how bad dad is. And he is his actual dad!" Erica exclaimed.

"What do you mean by that?" Chase asked. Wuya watched intently, she didn't mind be silent. She like watching them.

"Even though I call him my father, he is really my step father. My real dad was in the army, and died before I was born. My mother married my step father when I was very, very young. He is the only father I have ever had." She explained. She started to tear up, but that didn't stop Chase.

"Why is your step father so sick?" He pressed.

"He is developing Alzheimer's, if you must know."

"Don't you have to be really old to get that?" Wuya thought out loud.

"He is very old. He was twenty years older than my mother." Erica answered.

"And that didn't bother you?" Chase kept interrogating her.

"At the time I did not even think about the age difference. I was only two. But once I was old enough to care, it did not bother me. As I said, he is the only father I ever had," the tears started to come again. "Besides, in my mind love knows no age, race, or gender. I know he and my mother loved each other, and that is all that matters."

"How sweet." Wuya said sarcastically.

"I think that's a good theory." Chase said looking her in the eye, so she could tell he meant it.

"I think so too." She replied and starred at her food some more. She wasn't very hungry. "What is that you're drinking?" She nodded at Chase.

"My special immortality soup." He answered devilishly.

"Oh my…"

There was a silence.

"Why don't you speak using contractions?" Chase asked.

"Pardon?" Erica said confused.

"You always say 'it is' not 'it's' or 'do not' instead of 'don't'. Why?"

"I do not know, really." She answered honestly. "I was just raised that way, I suppose. Does it bother you?"

"No, I was just making on observation." He said back.

"You are a lot more observant than most people." She smiled. He smiled. She looking away. 'Why did I smile at him?' she thought, then mentally scolded herself for doing so.

**I seriously considered leaving Wuya out of this. But I figured she could become a key character in the plot, so I put 'er in.**

**I could really use some reviews…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay. My new obsession distracted me from writing. And I'm still trying to get back to how things were…enjoy:**

An eerie silence fell over the table. Cloaked in misery Erica stopped eating and continued to stare at her food.

Suddenly she felt an instant wave of courage coming and decided to ask questions.

"So, Chase, how long have you and Wuya been an 'item'?" Erica asked.

"What?" Chase dropped his spoon into his bowl.

"How long have you been going out?" She asked again. Wuya began giggling. "You know, like a…couple?"

"Wuya and I aren't dating, if that's what you're asking." Chase scowled at Wuya. "What did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her anything!" Wuya acted innocent.

Chase turned to Erica. She froze. "What did she tell you?"

Erica didn't know what to say. If she lied to Chase, he might hurt her, she thought. But on the other hand, Wuya was a potential friend. She shouldn't rat her out after just meeting. So, she quickly came up with a story that would please both villains.

"Wuya did not tell me anything like that. She only said a few things that kind of hinted at it. I guess I just took it the wrong way, and assumed you two were together. I apologize for the inconvenience. I just thought since you lived in the same place," She told them.

"In different beds, and different rooms!" Chase cut in.

"Yes, well, sorry."

"So apologetic this one, eh?" Wuya pointed to Erica.

"Yes, she quite is." Chase noted, as though in deep thought. "Apologizing won't get you anywhere. You aren't leaving until the pendant is mine."

"Well…well, I had to try, at least." Erica responded.

Time passed and finally everyone was on their third course. Or in Chase's case, his fourth course. Everyone was silent until Erica asked another question.

"Who makes all this food?"

"My jungle cats." Chase answered.

"Your what?" Erica said confused.

"Jungle cats."

"Like panthers and cheetahs." Wuya added.

"But, wild cats such as those can not make food!" Erica exclaimed. "Even normal domestic cats can not prepare anything. Anything edible anyway."

"These are special." Chase said, "they turn into humans."

"Humans?"

"Humans." He nodded.

"Goodness…I would rather like to meet one of these cat human creatures." Erica said, then looked down at her food. 'I hope they do not shed when they cook' she thought, and instantly lost her appetite.

"You can meet one whenever you want. They will now act as your slave. Your own personal slave. Just call for one and they will help you." Chase told her.

"How does one call something when one does not know their name?" Erica asked.

"I'll teach you later."

Dinner passed and Erica was escorted by Chase back to her room. He asked once again for the wu, she once again refused.

After he left, she walked over to the dresser. A drawer was sticking out, but she had pushed them all in. If it was sticking out it meant someone had tampered with it.

She pulled out all the drawers, peeked inside, and gasped. Every single drawer was filled with the clothes from her home. All of them. Packed with her own clothes. And some of the drawers even had new clothes that were like her old clothes.

There was a drawer for a shoes, socks, and accessories. Each drawer was packed with comforting goodies.

But her favorite drawer was the bottom left drawer. When she opened it up she found the current novel she was reading, her diary, (which she noted had no signs of being read.) an old hair brush her mother gave her, a picture of her parents and her as a child, and some old letters from her half brother that she had saved.

Though she was happy to find these things, over all it just made her sad and more worried about the situation. She decided to stop thinking about how the stuff got there, and why the stuff was there, and just do something.

She grabbed the novel and read a few chapters. After her eyes were tired from reading she re-arranged everything in the dresser so it would be like how she had it at home. After that she was tired. But afraid to go to bed. No telling what would happen if she did.

She headed for the fake wall and pushed it open to the waterfall room. She closed the door, leaving it open a very small crack to let in light, stripped off her clothes and glasses, and hopped into the cold stream. She didn't however take off the necklace. No, that never came off.

At first she wasn't going to use any soap, since she didn't have any, but noticed that walls were secreting something shiny and sticky. She leaned in and examined it, which was hard because she took off her glasses moments before.

She reached out with her hand and covered in some of the sappy stuff coming from the wall. She sniffed it. It smelled like lilacs. She started to put it in her hair, then stopped.

'Am I really going to use something that I do not even know what it is as shampoo?' She thought. She hesitated, but decided that the stuff was meant for this purpose and quickly washed her hair and body with it.

When she finished washing she opened the door a little more. When she looked down she saw that a white fluffy towel had been laid out for her. At the corner of the towel, in gold, were the letters C and Y carefully stitched in. 'CY for Chase Young' Erica figured it out.

She wrapped the warm soft towel around herself only to find that there was another smaller identical towel underneath. She took it and put it around her hair. But after lifting up that towel she found a hand-written note. It was a list. She started reading it out loud.

"One Zafara, two Mahleha, three Fuanuh…What is this list?" She looked in the corner of the note. In small print is said "Here are the names" and was signed by CY.

"Oh! This is the list of jungle cat names!" Erica exclaimed out loud. She turned the note over and drawn on the back was a map. It was the map of Chase's home. The map was shaded in different colors. The upper left side was shaded green, and upper right said red, a small portion of the lower right side purple, and the lower left side blue.

At the bottom of the map was the key:

Green is Chase's quarters.

Red is Wuya's quarters.

Purple was Erica's room.

Blue was the jungle cats room and the kitchen.

Underneath the key was another message from Chase. (Which Erica knew because it was the same handwriting as before, and was signed CY) It said "You are free to roam wherever you want here. Do not go outside. Do not enter my quarters when I am not there. Do not go into Wuya's quarters with out knocking or else she will be very mad. Be careful around the jungle cats, they get territorial. Other than that, go wherever you please."

Erica finished reading the note, and placed it on the dresser where she wouldn't forget it. She dried herself off and was about to go find some pajamas in the dresser when she noticed a new one laid out on her bed. It was white and made out of pure silk.

When she put it on all her worries seem to escape her. She had been so afraid of going to sleep, but when she wore it seemed sooth to her, and she crawled into the bed.

'Maybe it won't be so bad here' she thought, then quickly pushed the thought out of her head.

**As you can see I let my imagination go crazy with this chapter. I'm not even sure what I was thinking when I did the soap cave thing…or when I came up with those jungle cat names...Yeah, maybe I'm too creative for my own good. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the slower update time. I've been REALLY busy. Sorry. More info at the bottom note…enjoy:**

Despite the conditions, Erica slept soundly and peacefully. But unfortunately woke up to a jungle cat roaring at her…

"Ah!" She screamed as she rolled out of bed. When she landed she struggled to get to her feet, fell again, and backed up against the bed in a sitting position.

Temporarily forgetting that this wild cat was one of Chase's servants, Erica tried talking it out of 'killing' her. "Please do not hurt me! I have not done any thing wrong! Please!"

The cat rolled its eyes and left the room. Which is when Erica realized who the cat was, and instantly felt very, very stupid.

She brushed her hair, got dressed, and read a little more of her novel. She remembered Chase's note saying that she could explore. Thinking 'why not?' she went ahead and did it.

Erica walked the halls slowly. Taking in every thing. Every beautiful painting. Every piece of abstract artwork. Each statue. Everything.

She eventually reached a hall that had nothing but doors, doors, and more doors. Wondering which to open first, she randomly picked the one all the way on the left.

Upon entering she was amazed at what of waste of a room it was. It was absolutely bare except for one thing; centered in the middle of the room was a large golden harp. A grand harp with a small stool for sitting.

She circled the harp examining it, and taking in its beauty. It was the most beautiful harp she had ever seen. On some places the harp had even been carved out a little so it had images of angels and other figures.

Unable to resist, she sat down on the stool and gently plucked a string. It chimed a small note and then faded into silence. So she plucked another. And another. And another. The sound of the music must've carried far because Chase Young came walking in.

Unnoticed by Erica, he leaned against a wall and listened to the music.

Eventually she stopped playing and turned to him and gasped loudly. "You scared me." She breathed in relief.

"Do you play?" Chase asked.

Erica shifted her gaze to the harp. "No, I do not. I was merely 'playing' with it." She said softly, hoping it was okay for her to play it. "Did it…did it sound like I could play?" She asked curiously.

"Yes." Chase answered honestly. "Whenever I fool around with it, it never sounds that good. Wuya can play it well though. I like listening to it when she does."

"Oh." Erica blushed. "I did not think it was possible to make an instrument sound good if one does not know how to play. Well thank you for the complement."

"Do you play any instruments?" Chase asked.

"My mother started teaching me piano when I was three, but I could never really concentrate on it."

"Well, you were three." Chase said bluntly.

"Yes, I suppose that children at that age can not really concentrate." She stated. "I started learning flute and some other instruments but I could never keep it going. I used to get very bored with them and stop going to lessons." Erica said then sighed. "It was a stupid thing to do. I cost my father a lot of money doing that…" Small tears came to her eyes.

"Do you speak any foreign languages?" Chase quickly changed the subject, un-wanting to hear her start sobbing about her father.

"I speak Italian fluently. But, I mean, I live in Italy so I have to know it." She wiped away a tear. "Do you? Speak any languages, that is?"

"I speak Chinese."

"Is that where we are?" Erica asked. "China?"

"Very good. We are indeed in China." Chase praised her. "Now, may I have the amulet?"

"What?" Erica asked, slightly confused by the sudden change in conversation. "Oh, right, that. No. You may not have it."

"I had to ask." Chase sighed then headed for the door. "Oh, Erica?"

"Yes?"

"You will be sleeping in my room tonight."

"What! W-Why?" Erica started shaking, worried about the answer.

"Because I said so. Your room will be closed off." He said then walked out the door.

"Why Chase? Why will my room be closed off? Chase? Chase, why?" Nothing. "Chase?"

**Oh…someone's scared.**

**Ahem, now let me break something down for you. I am currently writing two stories. This, and my other story "In the Shadows." I update one, and then I update the other. I won't update one twice in a row. I am more eager to write when I get reviews, but "In the Shadows" only has about two readers! I am horribly upset about its lack of popularity, so I have an offer for you; the more of you who R&R "In the Shadows" the quicker I will be about writing.**

**This isn't not a bribe, or a deal, really. Why should I update my story if no one reads it? And if no one reads that one, I'll be less likely to update it, and if I'm less likely to update that, then I'm less likely to update this.**

**Therefore I BEG you! PLEASE read my story "In the Shadows"! I personally believe it is one of my better works and it only has two readers! Well just please R&R these stories if you want to make me unusually happy and uncontrollably giggly and hyper.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sick of apologizing for late updates. Besides, I'm not the only one who should be apologizing….**

**Enjoy:**

Emerging from the room, Erica peered down the halls hoping to run after Chase. But he was no where in sight and left no inkling at to where he might've gone. Sighing heavily, she closed the door to the small room.

Contemplating which door to use next, Erica thought it would be better to follow the hallway to the end, to see where it lead. After a tiring walk, and no results yet, she stopped to rest by leaning against the wall, next to a suit of amour.

"Hello there." She said politely to it. Most people would've gawked at her for doing this, but she didn't care. Erica marveled everything in this new place. And unlike most, knew of all the magic the Earth is surrounded in. She was convinced that if she talked to the suit, it would talk back.

But it didn't. It was as lifeless as the dead mouse she just happened to spy on the floor.

Wishing to get away from the mouse, she continued down the hall. Suddenly, Erica heard noises. Bird noises.

Picking up her pace, she reached the end of the hall. The hall instantly just cut off, revealing a beautiful out door room.

The room was huge. It had fountains and small rivers winding all through out. There were six gazebos, all connected by long white bridges. And there were a few trees, on top of which were the chirping birds.

Erica was mesmerized by the beautiful setting, but started wondering. Technically this room appeared be part of the palace, but had the illusion of being outside. However, she wondered if it really were outside. If it were outside, she was instructed not to go in it. But if it were in the palace, there should be no problem with it.

Starring down at her feet, wondering if she should take a step, a raven flew up next to her, hovered in her face, then landed by her toes.

"Hello, raven. My name is Erica." The raven squawked back at her. "I will take that to mean that you understand."

Erica noticed something different about the raven. It didn't have normal eyes. It's eyes were deep and dark. And seem to have an unnatural glisten to them.

"I see you have met my raven." A voice said.

Erica turned around to see Chase, watching her.

"How do you keep doing that?" She asked.

"Doing what?"

"Appearing like that?" Erica explained. Chase didn't answer. He stepped closer to her and the raven flew up onto his out stretched arm.

Forgetting about the room sharing situation, Erica started asking the current question on her mind; whether or not she could go into the room. "May I go-"

"Yes. This room is part of my home. It only appears to be outside; it isn't."

"Oh. Okay." Erica replied then walked out into the beautiful room. A small smile forming on her pale face; the first one in a while. "What is the raven's name?" Erica asked, kicking off her shoes and stepping onto one of the river with her eyes closed, and her back to the villain.

"He does not have a name." Chase answered, releasing the nameless raven into the air.

"Then what do you call him?"

"He is just my bird." Chase said sternly, wondering why he should name it.

"Does this room have a name?" Erica asked.

"No." Chase said baffled at the thought of naming a room.

"I will name it then." She replied. "I think I will call it the sanctuary."

"As you wish."

With out any explanation, the teen suddenly remembered the bedroom situation. She opened her eyes, and started turning around. "Chase why…"

Her voice trailed off as she realized he was gone.

**If you've paid enough attention to Xiaolin Showdown before, you already know about Chase's raven. And you have already seen 'the sanctuary.' Review please!**

**And, need I say it again, people? PLEASE check out "In the Shadows"! I get incredibly discouraged from writing when any of my stories receive little reviews. (Frowns. Does puppy eyes.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**So sorry about not updating! I was sick and I wasn't able to write or do anything. Also, tomorrow I'll be leaving for a few days on a trip to pick up my sister from college for Christmas break. I'll be gone about four days, but I'll try and update as soon as I'm back! Well I just wanted to write up this chapter before departing, so here it is. Enjoy:**

Erica hadn't heard any footsteps in a specific direction, but she knew Chase had gone north. The only way out of 'the sanctuary' was to go north. There weren't any other openings.

Forgetting about her shoes, and the fact that her feet were still wet, Erica ran from the room hoping to catch up with Chase. But after a few yards she knew she wouldn't find him, and her feet were already very sore from all the walking she had done earlier.

So she trudged back to the room, slipped her shoes on and departed down the hall.

"Goodness…" She said out loud while peering at the floor. "I have made quite a mess." She looked down at the small puddles of water from where she had previously run. Erica pulled out a small handkerchief from her blouse. It was an otherwise plane garment, but in the corners, embroidered in purple were the letters "E.L.V." Which blatantly stood for her name. Erica's full name was actually, Erica Lynn Valetciay.

Erica used the handkerchief like a make-shift mop and started wiping up the floor.

"You aren't his slave."

Erica turned around to see Wuya watching her. _Does anybody in this place make sounds when they walk?_ Erica thought.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"You aren't Chase's slave." Wuya said once more. "Why are you cleaning? The jungle cats will do it for you."

"Oh…Well, I am just used to cleaning up after myself. And everyone else, really, to be quite honest."

"You're also apparently accustomed to talking to yourself." Wuya stated.

"Hmm? Oh!" Erica exclaimed realizing Wuya had heard her thinking out loud. "Yes, that is a bit of a habit. At home I do not often have anyone to talk to. My father takes many naps during the day and I do not often invite people over so-"

"Stop!" Wuya practically yelled. "Just stop right there. I don't think I can stand you whining about your father one more time."

Erica nodded glumly and a silence spread through the castle. The women stood in peace for a moment before Erica broke it.

"I know that…Chase and you are not sharing a room, currently…but…has he…ever…asked you stay in his room…like, for a night or two?" she cautiously asked.

"He asked you to sleep in his room?" Wuya exclaimed.

"Yes." Erica breathed. "But I do not know why. And frankly, I am very nervous and scared about it."

"Hmm…"

"Well, has he ever…tried to…um…uh…well, uh…tr-tried to a-a-assault y-you?" Erica stuttered over her words, knowing she was trekking into dangerous territory.

"What?" A confused look took over the heylin witch's face. "Oh! No! Gosh no! How could you think something like that, anyway? I mean, why would I be living with someone who tries to force me?"

"Well, I do not personally know for sure, but if I had to fathom as to why, I'd say-" Erica started but was cut off.

"It was a rhetorical question!"

"Oh, well in that case…"

"I don't know why you're in Chase's room tonight. But he's never tried anything like that with me." Wuya told her. Angry that Erica would think such awful things about Chase, Wuya decided to seek "revenge" on the young girl.

"Well," Wuya said slyly. "He's never tried anything like that with **me**. But there was that…**other** teenage girl. The one who disappeared." She added menacingly.

"W-what other girl?" Erica asked scared.

"I shouldn't talk about her. Chase would get mad." Wuya said innocently.

"Oh, please, Wuya! Tell me!" Erica implored.

"Nah, I've said too much already. But it'd be a shame if you ended up like that poor dead girl. Oops! I've said more." Wuya smiled inwardly. "I'd better stop now." Added in the same fake manner of before.

"Um…excuse me please." Erica said frantically and started running down the hall towards her room. Wuya watched her with a growing smirk on her face.

"That'll teach her." She muttered.

When Erica had just about reached her room, her feet were in excruciating pain. She kicked off her shoes instantly and rubbed her feet tenderly. Before continuing, she decided to carry the boots. So she scooped them up and I walked the remaining distance.

A wave of freight flew over the young girl as she saw that the door to her room was sealed shut with a lock, and covered from end to end in yellow police tape.

Under normal circumstances, Erica would've questioned where the heck Chase obtained yellow police tape, but she was scared silly by Wuya's lies, and instead frantically pulled at the door handle.

When that didn't work, she stopped, slumped to the floor, and began crying for the **sixth** time since arriving.

-

**Six times…wow…Well, you guys know the drill!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So sorry…yet again. (sighs) I gotta hand it to you readers/reviewers, you guys are truly amazing for putting up with my updating schedule. Really, you are. So thanks!**

**R&R and enjoy:**

When her eyes were dry and her feet feeling less sore, Erica pulled herself up and examined the door. The police tape was still in her way and she wasn't able to open it.

"I guess I will just have to think about other things." Erica sighed to herself as she turned and slumped to the floor, contemplating how to brush this obstacle aside.

"The day is not over yet, perhaps I will be home before night falls." She said hopefully and began thinking about home. "Poor Father…"

"No! Wait!" She exclaimed all of sudden. "The only way I would get back home would be to turn over the amulet! I can not do that!" She then grunted in frustration and turned back to the door.

Erica started pulling at the tape. In normal circumstances she would have ripped it right off. But let's face it; these were not normal circumstances, and the tape fought back.

The tape was like, well, tape. And it was thickly adhered to the door. Erica dug her finger nails into it and began pulling as strongly as she could. The tape showed amazing resistance and stretched out about three feet like a thick membrane of sorts. The tape snapped back pulling Erica into the door and smashing her nose against it.

"Ouch!" She instantly let go and began rubbing her nose.

"Listen you, tape," Erica began scolding it. "You are going to let go of that door, and you are going to do it now!"

She snatched the tape and pulled it out more this time. About five feet. Then suddenly it retracted and was pulled right out of her hands. She started to fall backwards.

But as she was about to fall right on her butt, a pair of strong arms caught her beneath her own arms and hoisted her up slightly.

Startled Erica screamed, then calmed down and tilted her head backwards at her rescuer. She saw the image of her savior but was startled yet again to see sharp lizard-like eyes starring at her furiously. It was of course, Chase Young.

"Thank you, for that." She said to him and smiled. She looked down towards her necklace and started to feel very vulnerable.

Chase pulled her up all the way to her feet and spun her around by her shoulders. He gazed at her curiously.

"You should be more careful." He said bluntly.

"I suppose I should." Deciding not to mention the sleeping arrangements, Erica changed the subject. "Chase, um…what exactly…what exactly does the Amulet of Fantasies do?"

Chase blinked. "Erica, you know what it does."

"I know I do…but it…it is odd." She said dumbly. "You see, I know that my mother told me all about it. But I was **so** young then. I _should_ not even remember what she told me."

"But you do." Chase said.

"No, that is just the thing. I do not."

"What do you mean you don't?"

"When I start thinking about the amulet, my brain is flooded with trivia and knowledge of it. But I do not even remember hearing these things. It is like some how my subconscious remembered it all, and it is just releasing this information randomly. But I do not know why. And I am not sure if I should even trust it."

"So you want the real facts to make sure you aren't crazy and inventing things in your head?" Chase asked as if reading right through her. As if he read her mind. Then again, her face expressed everything clearly anyway.

"Yes." She nodded. "From what I understand, the amulet summons an army of vampires, fairies, elves, et cetera. But I mean…vampires, dwarves, and the like, they are not real!"

"Do you really believe that?" Chase asked quizzically.

"Well of course I believe that. Only a crazy person would actually believe that fairies and such exist. It is common knowledge. Everyone knows that they are not real. It is just expected of society."

"But you are not society." Chase stated.

"Well, no, not technically. But I mean, I am no crazy person!" She answered.

"I didn't ask if you were. And I didn't ask what everyone else believes. I asked what you believe."

"But…B-But I just told you…?"

"No, you told me what you were **expected** to believe."

"Oh…"

"Tell me Erica, what do **you** believe?"

"I…I…I do not know…" She said shakily.

"Erica, you're a vampire, how could you not know?" Chase asked impatiently.

She frowned. "Maybe I am. Or, maybe I will become one. But that hardly proves anything." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you need not to remind me of it." She said boldly, or rather, as boldly as she possibly could.

"You are welcome to bathe in my quarters tonight." Chase changed the subject. "There are other bathrooms throughout the palace. You may use them if you feel comfortable, but the cats often use those. Mine is private, so I just thought I would let you know you are allowed to use them. I've never allowed anyone in them before." He said and started to walk away.

"Chase…" Erica said softly. _I have to do this already,_ She thought.

"Yes?" He said with out turning to face her.

"Why am I rooming with you tonight?"

"And tomorrow." He said.

She gulped. "And tomorrow?"

There was a pause. Then Erica could practically feel him started to smile.

"I think you know why, Erica. I think you know." He said slyly and disappeared behind the corner.

"But…but…B-but I do not know why." She whispered.

**Don't freak out. Nothings going to happen…or is it? (laughs) No, I'm kidding. Nothin' that Chase and Wuya hinted at is gonna happen. At least, not anytime soon…**

**Oh, just something I wanted to point out. I'm sure you have all noticed this by now, but if you haven't; this is going to be a very S-L-O-W paced fic. It won't be like my short-choppy-action-fics. It'll be nice and slow and fluffy and romantic. (smiles) and I hope it will turn out okay. Well, I'm just trying something new here. Eh, this author's note is freaken long! REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yeah…sorry again…R&R and enjoy:**

Six hours later dinner was over and Erica was out of things to do.

"I guess I should just surrender myself to Chase's room." She sighed deeply while walking in the middle of a huge hallway. "Where is his room anyway?" She mused out loud.

Erica reached into her skirt pocket and yanked out her hand-drawn map from Chase. She started to examine it. It was a very easy map to follow, there was just one problem…

"How do I know which hallway I am in? There are nearly seventy of them!" Erica exclaimed throwing her head up in frustration. She looked back at the map. "Why are you like this? Why can you not show me where I am?" She asked the map, frustrated.

As if being voice activated, the map began to respond. A green blot of ink magically and mysteriously appeared over one of the halls. The green ink was like a floating cloud at first, but soon then cooled to a solid mark. Black ink then appeared over it, and spelled in very neat cursive writing "_You are here, Erica Lynn Valetciay."_

"Well that solves my problem." Erica smiled to herself. "I wonder how the map knew my full name…"

The words on the map cleared but the green dot remained. Suddenly the black ink came back but spelled another sentence. "_I am an enchanted map._"

Erica couldn't help but giggle. Never in the palace, or in life, had she come across something so magical. "Can you tell me how to escape?"

The map didn't change.

"Well, I suppose we all have our limits." Erica sighed, then directed the map to use a series of green arrows to find her way to Chase's quarters. Once reaching them she folded the map up and returned it the comfort of her velvet pockets.

"Chase?" She called, cautiously opening the door. Chase's room was decked out in samurai swords, red velvet and silk, gold, a few plants, some vases, a small collection of gem stones and jade, and other assorted artifacts. There was also one wall covered in many sparkly and shiny artifacts which Erica presumed to be more shen gong wu.

Chase's quarters were quite large but Erica explored it all, and was dismayed that she didn't find him anywhere. When she returned to his bedroom she looked over to his red and gold canopy bed. There was a book with a note.

"_I thought you might like this novel, CY."_ Erica read it aloud. She pulled the note off the book. "I have read this before…" She said disappointed. _But, it was a good book. Might as well read it again._

When Erica turned her gaze away she noticed an odd patch in the save walls. It looked like the patch in her room, only bigger. She jumped up and pushed on it and swung open like the others before it.

When the door was sprung open completely it revealed a HUGE bathroom covered in porcelain and gold. There was a toilet, yes a regular toilet, behind a red curtain. And there were no showers, but instead a huge hot tub that looked like it could fit twelve people comfortably and still have room for some more. It was seated in the middle of the room.

With nothing else to do, Erica checked that she was indeed alone, stripped off her clothes and got into the hot tub, which she had filled to the brim with bubbles. Pinching her nose with her fingers, she submerged herself in the water then popped back up drenched.

Wiping the soap from her face she swam over to edge of the tub, accidentally spilling some water out. "Oops…"

On the edge of the pool like tub there was a solid gold metal plate covering a small portion of the edge. Erica realized that it was on a hinge, and pushed the plate back revealing a series of big red buttons each with some sort of symbol on it.

"I wonder what this one does…" She talked to herself once more, pressing a button with a bubble on it. Instantly, the tub was over-come by powerful bursts of bubbles and water.

"Ooh…a jet!" Forgetting all the troubles of her world, Erica relaxed and scooted herself to a corner were the a jet was positioned. Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, she was perfectly clam until she heard a door slam a moment later.

Instantly alert she opened her eyes and starred at the door silently waiting. Then there was a small thud and the door to the bathroom started to open. Erica gasped gently and dove deeper into the water, covering her chest and chin. All that was above the surface was her eyes and nose, which was nearly scraping the bubbles.

Chase emerged from the door and Erica watched him like a hawk, her heart beginning to beat fast. _Thank goodness I am covered in bubbles._

"Oh…sorry." Chase coughed uncomfortably when he noticed her. He turned his back to her. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything…"

"Well, you were," Erica said plainly. _Gosh, this place has made me so much more bolder._ "But it is okay…I should have written a note or something to inform you I was in here."

"Right well…hurry up…with…what you're doing…in there…sorry again." Chase coughed more and then rushed out, too nervous to come back.

_He just had the perfect opportunity to do something, but he did not. Why? Maybe he is not so bad like I thought. Oh, Erica! Get a grip with yourself, that is crazy talk!_

**There is an important note on my profile. Most of you have already seen it, but if not you should go check it out soon. Preferably right now after you review, while it's fresh in your mind and you won't forget.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I must say, I REALLY like the way this chapter came out. It's one of the first chapters to explore some of the other points of the story. R&R and enjoy:**

Erica and Chase appeared to be in a silent, unofficial starring contest. Neither broke eye contact as they hovered over either side of his bed.

Finally Erica sighed. "Do I really have to?"

"Do I have to keep explaining it to you?" Chase asked irritated.

"Uh…yes."

This time it was Chase's turn to sigh. "You've already said you can't sleep on the floor or on a chair. Thus you have to sleep in a bed. My bed is the only one in this room."

"What about other rooms?"

"The only other rooms are the guest rooms. And it would be impossible to drag those beds in here. They're nailed down!"

Erica blinked in confusion. "Why on Earth are they nailed down?"

"Because when they weren't they were always escaping and flying out the windows." He said it like it was something normal.

"I…I am sorry, but, what?" Erica said stunned.

"The beds fly…and move…" Chase said, realizing that normal beds aren't like that. "So we pinned them all to the floor."

"Oh okay…but…er…why can I not just sleep in those rooms? That way we will not have to un-nail them." Erica suggested.

"Also can't be done. You are a guest, in a manner of speaking, and have already been assigned a guest room. If you try and enter another guest room the door knob will promptly tell you that you are entering someone else's room and scream at you until you go away."

"The door knob will scream?"

"…Yes…"

_I am starting to wonder if he's making this up. But then, my map talks in a way as well._ "You live in a very odd place, Mr. Young. I feel like I have been transported to into the book of Alice and Wonderland."

Chase nodded unenthusiastically.

Erica wrapped her arms around herself in a comforting hug. "It seems to have a weird affect on people's minds to. It seems that I can not focus on anything important…and the only things I see in my path are frivolous, meaningless tasks." _I have forgotten so much about home…_

"It seems to have a different affect on everyone…" Chase agreed. "It is late. I am going to bed. If you want to stay up and stand around, be my guest. But the doors to these quarters will lock soon and won't re-open until I wake up. So if you're thinking of walking anywhere, you can't."

"I guess I will just go to sleep now…uh…y-yeah…I-I will d-d-do tha-that…" Erica started to stutter again. Chase was already comfy under the covers watching her.

Awkwardly, she pulled the blanket off slightly and slid in underneath the covers…._Far_ on her side. Though she felt odd climbing into a bed with a man, she did not feel weird about that man being Chase. For reasons she couldn't understand, she felt safe around him, yet, did not trust him.

The lights instantly shut off as she eased her way in. Chase's bed was silky and warm and Erica could feel herself starting to drift into dream land the moment she laid down on them. She turned so that she was on her side on the very edge of the bed. If someone poked her she would have rolled right off.

Erica heard movement, and the subtle shift of the blanket. Chase had turned to his side to, as if to watch her, she could tell.

"You are very uncomfortable around men. Why?" He asked.

"And you are very forward with women. Why?" Erica boldly mimicked him.

"My sincerest Apologies, miss Valetciay, but I do not talk much with other people. Excuse me if my questions are direct."

Erica turned so she was facing him now. "How does everybody here know my full name?"

"We have our ways, Erica. We have our ways."

"Your ways are very vague." She said boldly again, rolling back to her side.

Chase snorted. "Really Erica, tell me; why are you so uncomfortable around men? Or, is it just me?"

Erica sighed deeply, opened her mouth as if to answer, then sighed again. "It is not just you…It is…" She sighed. "Must I tell you?" She asked softly.

"No…but I appreciate having my questions answered." He said. _So do I, but I do not see my questions being answered._

"I have just…I…it…was…I…er…I just had a bad experience is all." She answered small tears flowing to her eyes.

"It left you scarred." Chase noted.

"No, no, I do not have any scars."

"I meant emotionally."

"Oh…I suppose it has…"

The blankets shifted again as Chase sat up. The lights flickered on.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!" She answered not a half second later after he asked.

"Fine." Chase mumbled a laid back down. The lights turned off once more.

Erica shot up. The lights turned on.

"Why do you suddenly care so much about my life?" She asked looking over at him. His eyes were closed. He lifted one eye lid.

"I didn't say I did."

She sighed.

"Lights, dim." Chase ordered and they did. But an eerie blue glow existed from Erica's direction.

Chase sat up and looked into Erica's eyes. "I didn't know it glowed." He looked down at the amulet of fantasies.

"It glows when I want it to glow." Erica said, her voice almost filled with the sound of venom. The amulet grew brighter. "And I do not like the dark."

"Well I do."

Erica glared at Chase, and the light from the amulet become more powerful, illuminating the entire room.

Chase chuckled as he lay back down again.

"Something amuse you?" Erica asked angrily, a new edge forming in her voice. I new edge she couldn't explain. And didn't like. And couldn't control.

Chase chucked again. "You don't want to give up the amulet because your mother told you not to. You don't want to give it up because _you like the power_."

The amulet dimmed to it's usually shine and Erica laid back in the bed, starting to break out into a cold sweat.

"That has never happened before…" She said, her voice back to being shaking, timid, and scared. Never once in her life had she spoke with such authority. Never in her life had she exerted that much power over the amulet.

Chase sensed the freight in her voice. "Erica, is everything-"

"Please…" She whispered into her pillow. "Do not talk anymore…please…"

**Review! Tell me what you think! I wanna know!**


	11. Chapter 11

**If this isn't any good, I apologize. I didn't have much time to write it. R&R:**

The next day flew by no different from the others. The one and only thing that had changed was that Chase had brought her breakfast in the morning. Other than that she left the room, roamed around, had a "chat" with her map, and just did all the other usual stuff. In fact, considering nothing had really changed, rooming with Chase was almost better than rooming alone.

The day passed uneventful but once again night fell. Forgetting that she would be with Chase for two nights, Erica made her way back to her bedroom.

Dismayed she found that the tape was still in place, and still fighting back. She was starting to walk away when she heard noises.

"What was that?" She asked out loud, scared. "Is anyone there?" The noise ceased for a moment and Erica used the opportunity to take out her map.

"Can you tell me who and where people are in this palace?" She asked it hopefully. The giant green ink dot appeared once more and the black ink started spelling over it.

"_No."_

Erica sighed. "Some help you are."

"_Hey now!"_ The map spelled. _"I do plenty other things!"_

"Oh my goodness…it has an attitude…" The map started to spell something out again but the noises started once more. Erica stuffed the map in her pocket and looked around frantically.

"What could that possibly be?" Closing her eyes and concentrating she could make out the noise a little more. It was like a low hum and also there was a noise like…voices.

Acting purely on a hunch she rushed over to the door of her room and pressed her ear against it.

She heard what sounded almost like a construction site. And she definitely heard voices. She pressed her ear closer.

"…And so anyway, I told her if she was so concerned then she should've just stayed home and made casserole!" A roar of laughter broke out. But the question still remained, who was in her room and why?

"Ah Mahleha, you're terrible!" A second voice said after the laughter ended.

Suddenly a shriek of pain was heard after a loud thud.

Another voice spoke this time. "OW! Jeez, what is Chase's deal? Making us do all this…and for what?" This voice was very angry.

"Oh Fuanuh, suck it up. Chase wouldn't be very happy to hear you complaining." The first voice spoke out again.

"Easy for you to say," Fuanuh spoke again. "You and Zafara have the EASY job," he continued to rant by Erica had diverted her attention.

"Zafara…Fuanuh…why do these names sound to familiar?" Erica whispered to herself. "OH! I know! They are the names of the jungle cats!" She exclaimed happily.

"What was that?" Mahleha suddenly asked. "I think someone's outside…"

"Oh no!" Erica gasped and quickly ran down the hall not wanting to be caught.

--

After that the rest of the night was uneventful and she got ready for her next night in Chase's room. She was so preoccupied trying to figure out what the cats were doing in her room, she didn't even answer Chase when he started grilling her like usual. She let the questions fly over her head until her finally asked the usual old one.

"May I have the amulet of fantasies?"

"No, Chase!" She exclaimed annoyed.

"Why so irritated?"

Erica groaned. "I am tired." They both knew that wasn't the reason but he shut off the lights and they fell asleep.

--

Erica was blissfully dreaming when Chase shook her out of it.

"Erica! Erica!"

Erica jumped up from the bed and clutched the amulet, her eyes wide.

"Do not touch me!" She looked around confused. "Oh…I thought…I uh, thought I was being attacked…"

"Come! I have a surprise for you!" Chase looked like he had been up for hours and for was some reason perky. He yanked her arm and pulled her through the castle.

"Chase? What is it?" Erica asked while being pulled along. "Chase is it really that important? I am still in my dressing gown, for goodness sake!"

Chase didn't answer, just directed her to her room. The tape was gone.

"Chase, what-" Erica started but Chase cut her off.

"Go inside."

So she hesitated, then went for the handle and opened it up.

"Oh my God…"

**Mwhahah cliffy. REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

I am so sorry I haven't updated lately. I was so busy and then last Saturday my family and I went on vacation and we just got back last night and I'm still tired and I feel sick (must have caught something traveling) and…Basically, I've been lazy but I HAVE been very busy too. Well, this is a long boring author's note, on to the fic:

"Oh my God…Chase…is…this…h-how…" Erica stuttered. "Am I dreaming?"

When Erica opened up the door to the room she felt like she had moved in space. When she had entered she found herself in her room. Her old room. The room had been completely transformed and it was impossible to tell that it had previously been a cave.

She was simply baffled. The room looked exactly like her bedroom. It had the same sheets, the same wall paper, the same paintings, the same nick-knacks, it had everything. It was arranged just the way she had it at home. And when she pulled open a random drawer it was filled with everything it would have had back in Italy.

"No Erica. This isn't a dream." Chase answered after a pause.

"Then…are we back in Venice?" She asked.

"No."

Erica wandered around the room more, becoming very emotional at the kind gesture. She couldn't hold back the small tears coming to her eyes.

"How did you do this? How did you do any of this? Are you taking stuff from my home?" Erica started questioning him.

"So many questions..." Chase sighed. "No, we aren't taking things from your house. Everything in here is a replica."

"But it is so perfect…" Erica whispered. "Chase, why did you do all this?" He didn't answer.

"Chase?" Erica asked again. He starred at her with cold eyes. "Come on now Chase. Tell me!"

"No…" He said slowly.

"No?" Erica repeated. "You are not going to tell me why? But…but…b-but why not?"

"Erica, I-"

Erica was suddenly over-come with a new emotion. She couldn't place it. But she felt strange. "No…do not bother to explain…I am not sure what is going on right now, but I…I would like to be alone. This…this does not feel right"  
"Erica, look," Chase tried to speak again.

"Please…just leave me alone for a few hours. I need to be alone." Erica said, surprised by her boldness once more. More small silvery tears flowing to her eyes.

Chase sighed deeply. "All right." He left her newly remodeled room.

--

Two hours passed. Erica spent it sitting on her new bed thinking. Chase spent it doing the usual routine. He was trying to forget about Erica's reaction and focus on the plan.

But with not much to do in the citadel, he ended up going to check on her. When he opened the door to the room he found that she had turned off the light. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed with her back to him.

Chase allowed the door to slam to let her know he was there.

"I talked to Wuya…" She said slowly. "She said some things, Chase,…I-I still do not know why you have remodeled my, no, this room…but…she gave me an idea."

"What did she say, Erica?" Chase asked sighing. Another one of her ridiculous schemes. He thought to himself.

"Chase, are you…did you…you…" Erica stumbled over her words.

"What?" He asked irritated.

There was a silence. Erica got off the bed and smoothed her skirt before walking over to Chase and looking up into his eyes.

"Are you only being nice to me because you want the amulet?" Erica questioned, coming to a sad realization.

There, done…so many things left to do…Er, I don't really like the way this chapter came out, But I've said that before and changed my mind later. I will try to update my other fic tomorrow, and catch up on some stuff I need to do here. Meanwhile, feedback would be appreciated (smiles). 


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey…I know it's been a while. My sister came home from college for spring break (her school has spring break in March) and I haven't seen her since Christmas. And then…on the eighth Someone who I loved very much passed away. This is someone I've known my entire life, since I was three. I've loved him for the past eleven years, and his death has been really hard…(deep sigh) I just really wish he was still there when I come home. Well…enjoy this next chapter:**

"Well...are you?" Erica asked impatiently.

"Erica, I-" Chase started.

"You are!" She cried out. "I knew it! You do not care about me at all! You do not have compassion for people! You just want what you want!"

"Erica you aren't listening to me, look," Chase began once again.

"No! What is the use?" Erica started pulling at her hair, frustrated and confused. "I will never mean anything to anyone! All people see me for is…is…I do not even know!" She started crying hysterically.

"Erica? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. "Are you all right Erica? You're acting kind of strangely…"

"Strangely?" She whispered softly. "STRANGLEY? Really? Am I Chase? Since when did you become the king of feelings? Huh? When?"

Chase raised an eyebrow at her. "Erica, your behavior is starting to wor-"

Suddenly, She collapsed to the floor and started banging her head on it. "No one loves me! And they only person who does is dying and it is all my fault! I am useless! I am never going to do anything memorable with my life!"

"Erica, what's wrong with you?" Chase asked.

Her whole body heaved as she let out a big sob and started crying. She was just lying on the floor crying more than Chase had ever seen her cry. She closed her eyes and hugged herself. As she rolled to her side Chase eyed her worriedly.

"Erica…Whatever is happening, I want to help you…"

"What? I am fine." She sniffed and got up, brushing herself off.

"Has this ever happened before Erica? These…irrational mood swings, or whatever you want to call them, has this happened in the past?"

"Why do you want to know?" She snapped back. "You think there is something wrong with me? Do you?"

"No, I just-"

"You do! Don't you!"

"No, I don't I just a little…hey, wait a minute! You just said 'don't'!" Chase exclaimed.

"Yeah? So what? Now you're being critical of my way of speaking?"

"You're too! Erica, you never use contractions when speaking!"

"Yeah duh, I know that. What you think you know me better than I do or somethin'?" She retorted.

"Erica," Chase grew stern. "This isn't you talking, what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on!" She screamed loudly clawing at her hair again.

"Well, something must be wrong if you're going to scream like that." Chase said bluntly.

"I'm perfectly fine Chase! Or maybe I'm not! Maybe this is all an act to cover up my extremely wounded soul!"

He blinked in confusion. "Now that certainly wasn't Erica talking. I'm going to call Wuya, maybe she can-"

"Nooooooo!" She screamed getting in his face. Then suddenly pulled away and gasped.

"I am sorry Chase…that was way out of line," Her voice was soft like it usually is. "I should not have done that. I am so sorry. So, so, sorry. Please forgive me, Chase, please!" She started begging on her knees, small tears in her eyes.

"Erica I didn't I say I wouldn't-"

"Oh? What am I thinking?" She smacked her head. "I do not deserve to be forgiven! I am just a freak! And I am such a looser!"

"Erica!" Chase exclaimed exhausted. "What is going on?"

"Just get out." She growled.

"What?"

"GET OUT!"

"What…why?"

"Please leave me alone…" She said softly, crying once more.

"I…but…Erica…you…but…" Chase sighed. "All right." He strode over to the door. "I will be coming back later." He closed it on his way out, leaving Erica to cry in the darkness.

**Um….Erica's odd bi-polar-ish behavior will be explained in the next chapter. Along with some of the other questions shrouded in mystery in this story. Please review! I don't like it when people read my work without reviewing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**(Huge sigh of relief) Finally…done with big important chapters in my stories for a while. Enjoy:**

Chase had planned on coming back to Erica's room that day, but the hours slipped by and before he knew it, it was midnight. So he came back the next day. To his amazement there were no signs of her leaving. Meaning she had stayed there the entire night.

"Erica," He called knocking on the door but opening it as well. She was sitting on the bed towards him. Slightly hunched over. Her eyes on the floor, watching her pale bare foot make small circles in the newly added carpet.

The room was still dark and she averted his gaze.

"Um…feelings better?" He asked, unsure of what to say.

"Yes…" She said softly and started tracing the circles with her other foot.

"Erica…I…uh…" Chase let out a deep sigh. "I haven't exactly been very honest with you since you arrived. I haven't lied to you. But I haven't informing you on matter in which you are concerned…" He paused and pursed his lips, nervously.

Erica looked up at him. Nodded slowly. Giving permission to continue.

"Er…do you remember when you asked me about what the amulet did? And I just sort of side-stepped the question?"

"Hey, you know, you are right." Erica spoke. "But…why did you do that?"

"Well Erica, the truth is, I didn't want to answer the question yet. I didn't want to do it all if I could avoid it." Erica opened her mouth to say something but Chase silenced her. "But, I feel now that I must tell you. Because it will help you understand what's going on."

"And maybe…when I know what it is…I can control it…?"

"That's what I hope," Chase grimaced. "Otherwise I am wasting my time informing you."

"Well…um…explain, please."

Chase sighed. Opened his mouth, then sighed loudly again. "Where to begin…"

Finally after a long silence Chase spoke again, this time with more confidence.

"Let's just start where we are best acquainted. Erica, do you know why you are slowly becoming a vampire?"

"Because I am in possession of the Amulet of Fantasies. Otherwise known as the Jewel of the Vampires." She said bluntly.

"Right, but do you know why exactly it is happening?"

"Um…something about the army within the amulet is full of vampires?"

"Correct," Chase said. "Correct. Now, we just need to apply that basic concept to everything else."

"Hmm?"

"You're becoming a vampire, because the powerful amulet with which you share power and thoughts with, is the holding place of my vampires. And thus over time, you are becoming like them. Make sense?"

"I suppose…but what does this have to do with behavior?"

"I'm getting there! Now, remember when you were acting and speaking more boldly. But you thought it was the palaces doing?" Erica nodded. "It isn't! It's the amulet again. I mean think about it, if you were an all powerful vampire, or mermaid, or dragon, or something else, wouldn't you be pretty bold?"

"I guess if I was powerful like that, I would indeed have reason to be bolder and less scared. Sounds logical." She thought out loud. "Basically what you're saying is I am becoming a vampire?"

"No, no, we already knew that." Chase shook his head. "What I'm saying is that the creatures within the amulet are becoming you as much as you are becoming them. You're becoming each other."

"Okay…?"

"Think of it like this. All the 'mythical' creature in the worlds souls are trapped in there. And after an eternity of being trapped in a necklace, they get rather reckless. (Excuse the rhyme) Think of it like this…the souls begin to fight with each other and just cause havoc. And occasionally if their strong enough, their thoughts and feelings, or actions, break through to the user; that would be you."

"Okay I think I get it now. I have a bunch of souls raging around within the tiny space of this jewel," she held up the amulet. "and they exhibited a powerful force over me…and come out…as my own thoughts and feelings and way of speaking?"

"And that's the most simple way of putting it." Chase answered. "Remember when you couldn't figure out why you knew so much about the amulet?"

"Yes. That was most peculiar."

"Well the souls inside do know. After all, the necklace is their home. They know more about it than anyone else. They've been feeding you the information as they please."

Erica starred down into the amulet. "You know, I have been taking care of those little guys more than ten years. You would think they would be a little more great full towards me. Instead of confusing me all the time and trying to make me use their emotions."

"Careful Erica. They can hear you."

"Let them hear me! I have been nothing but nice to the little guys. And the only thing they have done for me is make me a vampire. And that is more a curse than a gift."

"If you were to part with the amulet, they wouldn't be able to-"

"No, Chase. Just no. Do not use this to try and take the amulet. I would rather put up with them than be free, knowing I have damned the rest of the world."

"Had to try." Chase justified his actions.

"What about all these moods swings? How are they explained?"

"When two souls start fighting for control each will exert partial control, then jump to the next. And two beings would only ever fight for control if they had different opinions. That's why when one breaks through you feel fine and happy, then when the other takes control it makes you angry and sad. Then the happy one seizes control again, and then a different soul comes into the mix that wants you to feel-"

"Okay, sorry for interrupting, but why do these soul feel the needs to control what I think?

"No one knows, really. It could be that they want to control you and work through you to be the new host. It could be that they think you're doing a lousy job taking care of yourself, and thusly them, and feel the need to try and protect you."

"So what you are saying is that they either want to be control or they want to help me?"

"Or something else. As I said, no one knows. There are a number of possibilities."

"Well, I think those little…souls are quite weird, and strange little meddlers."

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge," Chase cocked an eyebrow at her. "One time these souls were majestic beauties that ruled the land and seas. Not too long ago was it when they were just like us."

"Then what happened?" Erica asked eager for more. She almost felt as if she was listening to a story, not random bits of information.

"Humans. Humans happened."

"The words speak for themselves…" Erica commented dryly. "How is that you know all this stuff?"

Chase chuckled. "One secret at a time, Erica. One secret at a time." He chuckled again and left her to prepare breakfast, being sure to turn on the light this time.

**Well, I certainly hope this chap' did the explanation justice. Now, I command you to leave me a nice long review filled with praise and constructive criticism.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ah, I think fanfiction is on the fritz again! Anyway, whenever I find time I'm going to start pre-writing this, my other, and some new stories. That way when they're complete in advance I can update quicker! Yay! Enjoy this cute little chapter:**

Over the next two weeks Erica furiously toyed with the idea of letting Chase have the amulet. The more she learned about it, the more ridding herself of it sounded better and better.

But she always came to the same conclusion. She wouldn't give it to him. She _couldn't_ give it to him. And though there were several occasions where she held the jewel up, ready to rip it from her neck and hand it over, deep down she knew she wanted to keep it.

Erica began talking to the amulet. She thought that maybe if she spent time with the souls they would act more like her. And she'd be able to do things her way. So far her work yielded nothing, but she had only been working at it for a few days.

The rest of her time she used to fall into a pre-established routine. She went back to wandering the halls, now with the aid of her map, looking for new rooms and checking them out. And also spending hours in the sanctuary reading novels that Chase seemed to have a limitless supply of.

As usual, the only real dilemma was the matter of her father. Whenever something happened that would bring up memories of his, Erica would slip away to her room and just cry. She'd considered many times just leaving but didn't even know where the palace exit was. Not to mention she had no idea what part of China they were in, nor how to get back to Europe.

And even if she _did_ escape, and even if she _did_ find a plane to Italy, she still couldn't get back. For Erica had no passport with her, nor did she ever have one in her possession. She didn't travel.

So she found a new way to deal with her father. She forgot about him. She convinced herself he would be fine on his own. Or that the apartment building would send someone to take care of him. Or he would have the sense to hire a full-time nurse. He'd be fine, she'd tell herself.

Of course, Erica knew she was deluding herself. But in this situation the only thing she could do was dream and hope. There wasn't a way she could help. Like any normal person would agree, it wasn't the best solution. And when she started thinking about it more in depth she quickly found something pointless and shiny to distract and entertain her.

-

It was a boring Thursday evening that Erica had spent doing nothing productive. She read for a bit, then feel asleep and napped for nearly three hours. Not wanting to let the day slip away with out doing something meaningful, she set out into the halls to explore.

"What to do today…" She thought out loud. Erica took out her prized map. "Pick a room I haven't visited yet." She commanded, and the familiar big green blob of ink appeared over one of the doors in the main hallway. _Here._ The black ink wrote out. _You'll enjoy this one._

Putting the map away Erica wandered over to the door. She was already in the hallway so it wasn't a confusing trip. It only took a little bit of time to reach because she was in the largest hall.

When she reached the door she had a moment of déjà vu, and quickly realized why. She had been through the door on the left before. It was the room with the beautiful, ornate harp.

This new room was similar to the harp room. Large and empty. Except right in the middle was a smooth, black, grand piano. Erica couldn't resist. Sitting down, she began to play a simple tune that she recalled from her childhood lessons.

Suddenly Wuya Entered.

"Hey!" The witch exclaimed making Erica jump and hit all the wrong notes as her hand came smashing down.

"Hello," She said back calmly. "Is there a problem, Wuya?"

"Yeah there's a problem! You're playing MY piano!"

"Oh, sorry." She muttered. "Well, I just assumed it was a piano for everyone."

"Well you assumed wrong! Get off it! I want to play!" Erica couldn't understand why the witch was suddenly so irritable.

"Wuya, you sound like a child." A very cool and collected Chase walked in. "If Erica wants to play, she can." He flashed a smug smile. "Wait your turn like a good girl."

Rage welled up within Wuya. "I can't stand you!" She finally shrieked and pushed pass him and out the door, screaming profanities the whole way.

"You'll have to ignore her," Chase said sitting down next to her on the piano bench, "we had a fight and she was looking to let out some steam. When she wants to do that she becomes a bit of a bully. I figured you would become the victim so I've been trailing her for twenty minutes."

"Oh…how kind." Erica said. She didn't want to thank Chase, she was still mad that he was holding her captive, but she couldn't _totally _let his good deed go un-complimented. "What was the fight about?" She asked curiously.

"None of your concern." He said, and quickly changed the subject. "Play that tune again." He ordered. "It was cute."

"It is a duet. My favorite duet. My teacher used to play the melody and I would play the chorus. That is what I was playing before, the chorus, in case you were wondering."

"Could you teach me the melody?" Chase asked.

"Oh, I am no teacher, Chase."

"Does that matter? You know the song, teach me."

"But I am so out of practice…"

"You were just playing!"

"But I have only ever played the chorus, Chase. I do not think I can-"

"Erica, we can argue all day. I'm a persistent man, and you're going to teach me this song." He pushed.

"Why do you want to learn it so badly anyway?" She asked exasperated.

"I'm bored." Chase shrugged, leaning back. "Need something to do. I've got so many instruments around here I might as well learn how to play one of them."

Erica let out a big sigh. "Do you want to learn the song, or do you want to just learn how to play?"

"Both."

She sighed again. She took his hand in hers. His hands were large and rough. She placed his pointer finger on one of the keys, producing a music note.

"This is called middle C…"

**The strangest thing happened this morning. I saw a women that look almost EXACTLY what Erica is suppose to look like! The only difference was the outfit, and this lady didn't have glasses. She was also a lot older than Erica is suppose to be, but if this character of mine was real she'd look just like that women. Anyway, it was a freaky moment for me, and I felt like sharing it with you guys for some reason. Please review now.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, I know it's been a while. Bear in mind however that Fanfiction hasn't been sending its emails out for the past…eleven days. So I was just sorta like "Well no one's going to **_**REALLY**_** care if I don't update…" So I didn't. I was also extremely busy with (school) testing. Still am. Also, I will be gone from Sunday to Wednesday. And quite possibly Thursday, so no updates then. However, this is the last time I'll be leaving on business/vacation for another four months! And with the end nearing for school, I would say to expect no more delays in my writing! Right, well this note is long enough, on to the next chapter:**

-Three and a half hours later-

"Teach me more." Chase commanded.

"Chase I have already taught you everything I know!" Erica exclaimed, exasperated.

"All you have taught me is scales, and a few simple songs. Songs which I am already forgetting how to play." Chase answered. "Now teach me more."

"But that is all I know, Chase." Erica said through clenched teeth, holding her temper in.

"Well, then, let's practice."

"No!" Erica couldn't contain it anymore. "I have not been able to stretch my legs in, what is it now? Four hours? And, I am absolutely famished, what time is it?"

"Seven forty-five." He answered glancing at a clock in the corner of the room.

"That is practically eight!" Erica almost screamed. "Why have we not eaten dinner yet? I thought we always ate by six around here!"

"Correction; we eat when I order the food to be cooked."

"Well, then order some food to be cooked." Erica said, growing tired of Chase's attitude. _I haven't had a meal in over six hours._ Erica thought, hungrily.

"Not until you teach me more piano. You say you've taught me everything, but I'm not as good as you yet."

"That is because you need to practice." Erica sighed. "I did not master those songs until months of practice." Her stomach growled loudly. "Really Chase, can we please eat something? I feel like your starving me here on purpose or something."

"Have you taught me everything you know, yet?"

"Everything I know about piano."

"Then we may go have some supper." Chase finally gave in.

--

Meal times were probably the only moments Erica truly enjoyed in the palace. It was, she felt, the only time she could really relax and gather her thought. That, and she enjoyed the ridiculous arguments Chase and Wuya had almost every night.

And the nights they didn't argue, they discussed other things. Erica had learned a few things listening to them talk.

For starters, she knew about more shen gong wu then ever. She had also learned that the four children she saw back in Venice, where monks. Training at a place called the Xiaolin Temple. She had noticed the Chase had particular interest in the small boy named Omi. Who she had also learned was the Dragon of Water; though she wasn't entirely sure what that meant.

She had learned about other people, too. Wuya and Chase seemed to also enjoy talking about all the stupid things a boy named Jack Spicer had done. And Erica could remember one lively conversation about betrayal where the name "Master Monk Guan" had come up several times.

So, there she was on that night, watching the two speak over an Indian-themed meal of curry and lentils. Erica wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation tonight. It was some sort of argument. But it wasn't quite a "heated fight" yet.

The argument was slowly winding down when there was a sudden crash; most likely a jungle cat accidentally breaking a dish.

But the shattering glass made them all jump, and for Wuya this became an unfortunate move.

Wuya had been cutting some food up when the crash happened. And when she jumped up her knife had slipped through her fingers and flown up into the air. But when it came sailing back, the sharp, serrated edge drove into the flashy tip of one her left fingers.

"Wuya!" Chase rushed over to her as she screamed in pain. Erica watched in horror, unable to move, as blood gushed out of her finger.

"Wuya are you okay?" Chase asked frantically, while dabbing away some blood with his napkin.

"I'm fine." Wuya assured him. "It just looks bad, it isn't a severe cut."

"Are you sure? It's very bloody…" Chase said pressing his napkin to her finger to stop the flow of blood.

"I'm sure. I'm more in shock than I am pain."

"Regardless, it could still get infected. Erica," Chase instructed, "Go into my bathroom cabinet and bring me some iodine.

No answer. No footsteps off to get iodine.

"Erica?" Chase yelled annoyed that she wouldn't obey an order. And such a simple order at that. He started to turn around to face the defiant teen. "I told you to do something Erica, now plea-" He stopped short when he realized she was no longer in sight.

**Erica's disappearance will of course be explained in the next chapter. Oh, and for the record, this story is about…half-way done. Maybe a little bit more than halfway. (smiles) Still, it'll be a while before it's finished. Now, I can't MAKE you review…(winks) But I'm still going to ASK. Please?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Gonna do some more pre-writing today. I REALLY want to finish my two current fics and my two yet-to-be-posted fics before Septemeber. Which means I'm going to be posting pretty much weekly, or even bi-weekly, come summer. In fact, I'm trying to do that now. But enough about my odd writing schedule, on to the much awaited next chapter:**

Chase had meant to find Erica earlier, but was preoccupied with Wuya. Even though the witch assured him several times that the cut was okay (and indeed not only was it okay, it was very small), he kept regularly checking it for infection. He did this so much that he finally just decided that it was late and he was going to bed.

It was now the next morning and Erica hadn't shown up for breakfast. But Chase knew she had to be there somewhere.

"You don't think…what if she figured out how to leave?" Wuya asked between bites of cereal.

"_Surely_ she hasn't figured that out yet." Chase answered coolly, but he was slightly nervous. _What if? What if she did figure it out?_

Trying to push that thought out of his head proved harder than he thought. And, worried, Chase got up from the table without finishing his fruit and headed off towards the sanctuary. She wasn't there. Next he tried her bedroom. She was there.

The lights, as it always seemed they were, were off. Erica was lying on the bed, and for a moment Chase thought she was sleeping. But when he looked a little closer he saw that her eyes were indeed open.

"Erica?" He called, deciding to wait a minute for the questioning.

"Y-y-yes?" She answered sounding much more nervous than usual.

"Um…" Chase made his way to the bed and sat on the corner. "Er…is…uh…anything bothering you?"

A tear glittered in her eye and slid down her cheek. She nodded.

"Will you give me the amulet of fantasies?" He sprang the question out of the blue.

"NO!" She sat up. "Chase why does it have to be like this? Every time I see you that is the first thing you ask! Can you not just leave it be every now and then?"

"Actually my first question when I saw you was 'was anything bothering you'." Chase smirked.

"Oh, do not be smart." Erica scolded, though she still sounded very nervous.

"But really, is there?"

"Is there what?"

"Something bothering you?"

"I already said yes." She chewed her lip slightly.

"Well…"

"You are wondering what it is?"

"Bingo." Chase said, stumped.

Erica sighed and started up her explanation. "When we were eating…there was that crash."

"Which was, I found out, a panther dropping a tray full of washed cups." Chase interjected.

"Yes, well, what it is does not really matter to me." She continued. "Anyway, well…so, there was the crash-"

"We've already established that, Erica."

She scowled. "Do you want to know the story or not?"

"Yes, I do, but I just thought of another question."

"What is it?"

"Why were you laying here in the dark? You looked liked you were sleeping."

Erica shrugged her shoulders. "I have observed that I do my best thinking when I'm about to sleep, or first falling asleep. So sometimes I turn off the lights and lie down, hoping to create an illusion of sleep to trick my brain into working better."

"Does it work?"

"Surprisingly, yes…"

"I should try that sometime." Chase answered and there was a pause. "Right, well, as you were saying…"

"As I was saying," Erica picked up the story again, "There was the crash." _She's mentioned that three times now. _Chase thought but held his tongue.

"And, I missed exactly what happened, but somehow Wuya ended up with a cut finger." Erica paused and shuddered. "A very bloody cut finger."

"That's what this is about? You're squeamish around blood?" Chase asked.

"No…that is not it."

"Then what?" Chase was becoming frustrated.

Erica started to shake more violently now and more tears formed in her eyes, clumping her eyelashes together into small triangles.

"When I saw the blood…When I…I normally…do not like the sight of it anyway. I always look away when the doctor had to draw blood. But, I mean, I can look at it with out freaking out or something."

Chase opened is mouth to say something, but Erica continued.

"But this time…there was…this…this…C-Chase, you know the side effect…of this uh, wu thing?"

He nodded. He knew what she was talking about, but not sure why she was bringing it up.

She sighed deeply and several tears rolled down her face. "I guess I should just spit it out. When I saw the blood…this… I heard this voice. I thought it was just crazy at first. Who…who would be talking? But then…the voice…I realized it was mine. In my head."

"…What did the voice say?"

Erica brought her hands over her face and let out a sob. "It said…it said…drink. It said, drink the precious mercury. You know you want it. You need it. It was taunting me, it was. It said…drink it all up. Then finish her off. Go for her neck…go for her neck like…the _vampire_ you are." She finished and let out a big sob.

"I know…it is too soon for…what it said to be true. Not enough time has passed for me to be a full…you know. But I was…I was like in this trance. The voice kept telling me to drink up all of Wuya's blood. But what sickens me is…I felt…like I actually wanted to."

"I knew it was not very smart to just leave like that, but-"

"You were afraid you would hurt someone." Chase finished for her.

Erica nodded, still crying freely. "What are we going to do Chase? What if I can not…control myself?"

"Erica, I…er…this has to just be some false alarm. I'm sure you'll be fine." Chase tried to reassure her.

Erica let out a sob, and much to Chase surprised, leaned forward into the golden armor on his shoulder. Se started crying into it. Chase's whole body tensed up. _Why is she leaning on me?_

"I don't want any of this." She cried, her sob muffled slightly.

Chase was still completely rigid. _Is this some European sign of affection? What is she doing?_ Finally Chase decided to attempt to comfort her. He patted her back slightly. "Um….there…there. Cheer up…er…"

This continued for a moment before finally Chase became annoyed. "All right, get off me already!"

"Sorry…" Erica said pulling back, the tears starting to stop. "I…uh…should not have done that…I suppose…"

**Kind of a weird place to stop. Sorry. Well, as you know, I like review. (raises eyebrow) and I seemed to have noticed that ****Some**** or you, ****and you know who you are****, have stopped reviewing lately but keep reading. And to those of you who did/ are doing that, that's just plain rude.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Yay! I'm back in another writing mood! Let's see how long this one lasts. In the meantime…:**

-An hour or so later-

"Wow…" Erica said slowly, her eyes on Chase. "I have not…I have not been this upset since the whole fiasco with Jeff…"

"Who's Jeff?" Chase asked, intrigued.

"N-no one!" She added hastily.

Chase had a stern expression upon his face when he asked once more, "Who is Jeff? I command you to tell me."

"Command me?" Erica said shocked. "You…but…er, really Chase, what on earth makes you think you can command me to do something I wish not to do?"

"Well, I…" Chase's voice trailed off and he thought about what he had just said. "Well, all right, I suppose I can't command you…I'm just used to having people do what I say."

"You sounded awfully spoiled with that last sentence." She said boldly, wondering how much she could test Chase's patience.

"Mmm…yes…" Chase nodded, "Well, changing the subject for a moment, if you're still upset about the vampire thing, you need only hand over the-"

"NO!"

"WHY NOT?" Chase finally lost it and yelled.

"I told you…however many days ago I have been here…I really have lost track of time, you know, anyway, I told you when you first brought me here; I made a promise to my mother and I intend to carry out. To the grave."

"YOU ARE RIDICULOUS!" He bellowed.

"NO CHASE, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS RIDICULOUS!" Erica yelled, finding it difficult to match Chase's volume. "KIDNAP OVER A NECKLACE! Who ever heard of such a thing?" She added exasperated.

"I NEED THAT NECKLACE!"

"NO YOU DO NOT!"

"YES I DO!"

"NO YOU DON'T! YOU HAVE PLENTY OF OTHER SHEN GONG WU THINGS! AND THIS SCREAMING MATCH IS STUPID AND IMMATURE!" Erica took a few deep breaths. "So, very immature. I really…ugh…I do not know you to well, but I at least thought better of myself than to act like a child…I am practically an adult…Goodness, I was so mad I knowingly used a contraction…"

"You're weird with the way you speak. So what if you use a contraction?"

"I do not use them. Period." The two glared at each other in silence for a few minute, still annoyed about the amulet.

"So…this Jeff person…" Chase finally broke the silence.

Erica sighed. "Do you really want to know the story?" Chase nodded. "Oh, all right, Jeff was…six month ago Jeff was my boyfriend. He's my ex now. The end."

Chase glared. "Erica, that was not a story. What happened in the middle?"

She sighed again, louder this time. "I loved Jeff…" She said softly. "He was my first, and probably my last, serious boyfriend. We dated for nearly two years with out any problems. I thought we were soul mates, I thought…" She trailed off. "I thought we would love each other forever. And get married and have plenty of children…"

"So what happened?"

"Well, Jeff was older than me…and let us just say he was 'more experienced' then I was. So, one day Jeff starts hinting that he…" Erica made a face. "I have never repeated the story to anyone but my diary before. Gosh, this is sort of embarrassing…"

"It's okay…I won't er…laugh or anything."

"Okay, well, one day Jeff starts hinting that he wants to, er, take our relationship to the next 'level.' I told him I did not feel ready, but he kept hinting for weeks. Well, finally-"

"Wait, what do you mean by the next level?" Chase interrupted.

Erica blushed a deep red. "Surely Chase you know…Uh, you know… 'do the deed'" Chase made a confused face. "Um…he wanted to 'do it,' you know, that…" Still confused looks. "Uh…he wanted to uh…you know… 'get it on.'"

"Erica whatever it is just say it. Stop beating around the bush."

"Honestly Chase how can you not…? How can you not know…?"

"What did Jeff want to do?" Chase asked annoyed. "What are you hinting at?"

"Sexual intercourse Chase!" Erica practically screamed.

"Oh…that…" Finally a look of recognition.

"Good God, how thick are you!" She said, her voice still raised.

They were silent for a moment.

"Ugh…" Erica started up again. "Well, I was so sick of him pushing, and I did love him. Who better to loose it to then him?" Chase started to interject, "Do not make me explain what that means to Chase. Anyway, I was afraid that if we did not… 'do it' then he might leave me. So as you can see it was a big dilemma…for me anyway…"

"Erica, you should never do something like…that…just to keep a guy."

"Well, yes, Chase I know that now." She said, slightly annoyed. "But anyway…So I gave in…and…you know, so…we did…" Small tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Something happened…" Chase finished for her.

"The very next morning…I…well…I loved him. I thought he loved me. It turns out…he loved a girl named Jillian. The very next morning I awoke to find them making out in the very next room." She sighed. "It would be so easy to just call him a jerk and a perv. But the truth is…he just was not one. He was one of the sweetest men I know. I really do not know why this ever happened…anyway, needless to say we broke up. I had never cried so much in my life in one night. And since him…I just haven't been able to trust people as easily. Especially guys. I can no longer look at a guy with out thinking of him. I cannot even look at a little boy and wonder if this sweet innocent child will grow up to be some…heart breaker."

"So…that's the story…why you can't trust people…yes?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds so silly now but…well, what can I say, it is the truth." Her eyes met Chase. "He still haunts me. I just can't look at a man without thinking of him. And I just fear that I will never find…never find love again. Destined to be some alone old lady." She sighed. "I suppose it is better this way. The incident did give me more time to help out my father. Still, I really do fear I will end up alone, and that no one will love or care about me."

"You won't end up alone." Chase said quietly. "Someone…someone will care about you. You…don't worry about Erica…someone will…you're very pretty…and someone…there will be a guy somewhere who…you know, loves you for you. Forget about Jeff. He was a pig."

Erica smiled between her tears. "Thanks Chase. Just hearing those words does help."

**In the original draft Chase was going to know what Erica was hinting at. But when I thought about it I realized that Chase is an old dude. A REALLY REALLY old guy, and he just wouldn't know twenty-first century slang. Also, Jeff's other girlfriend Jillian, was me sort of spoofing my story "The Xiaolin Sue Parodies," in which a girl named Jill is like the ultimate Mary-Sue and gets it on with every guy in the fandom. It's one of my most popular stories, and if you have time you should read it; it's pretty funny. Well, anyway, enough self advertising; some reviews please!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey, I was gonna update sooner but then I injured my ankle really badly. And I know that my ankle doesn't actually affect my typing ability, but I was in a lot of pain and basically just had to lie around all day. And I wasn't really thinking about fanfiction my brain was just sort of like "Ow…ow…OW!" all the time…and yeah. Right, well onto the next chapter:**

-A few hours later-

After a pause in their conversation, Erica glanced over at her bedside alarm clock, and gasped loudly at the time it showed.

"Chase! Can you believe how long we have been talking?" She said, still shocked.

"Yeah…" Chase said slowly looking at the clock. "Yes…a long time indeed…Well," He started getting up, "I should probably get to work on some things I need to do."

"Wait!" Erica grabbed her forearm. "Do you really need to do these errands?"

"Not right now, no…why?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Well, I rather like talking. I have not really had a real conversation in quite some time now." She released his arm. "I was hoping we could continue. Maybe talk about something else like…I do not know, maybe…maybe…you?"

"Me?" Chase answered abruptly.

"Yes, you. We have already talked about me on occasion. But I know next to nothing about you. And I…I do not know, I suppose I am just curious about the man I am being forced to share a house with. Er…a cave with. Or rather…a fortress with? A…um…" She stuttered. "Where are we anyway? Rather, what are we in?"

"Inside a mountain." He answered and hesitated for a moment, then sat back down. "Why do you want to talk about me? It's much more interesting to talk about you."

"It is?" Erica asked, surprised.

"Of course it is. I already know all about my life, what I don't know is your life. Thus your life is more interesting."

Erica scoffed and peered around at the room that was a complete replica of her own bedroom at home. "I would gather that you already know enough about my own life."

Chase looked away as if he was almost ashamed. "Recent history is easy enough to observe. I don't know about your childhood."

"And I do no know about yours. Come on Chase, spill some secrets all ready. You really drive me to insanity with all your mysterious and puzzles."

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth. "What do you want to know?"

"Um…okay…how about um…er…well, see, I did not actually think of any questions, so- No! Please do not get up and leave! Um, okay, where…where were you born?" Erica asked hastily.

"China. Small village in the mountains. Lived there my whole life." Chase answered.

"All right…and um, your family?"

"What about them?"

"Did you have any siblings, perhaps?" She asked curiously.

"Yes…" He said slowly. "A little sister. But she died of sickness at a young age."

"Oh Chase, I am so sorry. Um…what about your parents?"

"Died over a thousand years ago."

"Oh, I am sorry again. And I thought I had it bad, sounds like you have no remaining family."

"Well, you have it worse." Chase said.

"How do you figure?"

"I've had hundreds of years to cope; you're currently living with the pain. In my opinion your situation is worse."

"Maybe I will be able to move on in a hundred years…though I doubt, with this curse, I will even live to thirty…You really are, no offense, quite old. It is a bit ironic considering your name is Young." Erica told him.

"Well, seldom people live to fifteen hundred." Chase answered. Erica giggled slightly.

"I do suppose that is true. So, anyway, back to the questioning; Um…what do you do for a living?"

"I consider myself supreme world leader in-training."

"Well…is that not an impressive title or what?" She asked rhetorically. "Um…how long have you lived in this cave?"

"Mountain." He corrected.

"Right, right; mountain. How long have you lived in this mountain?"

"Don't know….perhaps fifty years." He mentioned it like it was only a few months.

"Wow…okay, um, how long have you known Wuya?"

"Fourteen hundred and sixty-seven years."

"Oh my…goodness…have you lived together that long?"

"Nope. She's actually only lived here one and half years. Ever since I transformed her back into her human form. Before that she was something that of a ghost and before that stuck in ancient Chinese puzzle box."

Erica starred at him for a full three minutes. "What?!" Chase repeated the sentence about the puzzle box.

"She was stuck in a…and she was a…What?! This story makes no sense…you are not making this up as we go along, are you?"

"No, she really was trapped in a Chinese puzzle box until the imbecile Spicer freed her. Then eighteen months ago I used the Serpent's Tail and the Reversing Mirror to transform her back into her regular form, hoping that she would help me with world domination. Unfortunately, the witch isn't nearly that grateful."

"The tail of a snake and mirror of opposite to –WHAT?"

"Are you going to stop doing that any time soon?" Chase scowled.

"Stop doing what?"

"THE WHAT THING!" He growled at her.

"The what, what thing? Wait…what? Uh…what are we…what are we talking about, now? I…I am sorry Chase this conversation is becoming too confusing we should probably-" Erica started, but Chase finished for her.

"Continue this some other time." He got up and left. _My goodness, he is awfully annoyed…did I upset him?_

"I was going to say change the subject." She muttered as the door slammed shut.

**And done with that. ****Now, I'm seeing a lack of reviews from some of you. Perhaps it's because I don't update as much and people lost interest, which I suppose would be my fault. Or perhaps it's because people have become lazy and stopped reviewing. If it's the latter, that is extremely rude. I really do appreciate and thoroughly think about your feedback. I'd even go so far as to say that I need your insights and ideas to complete the story! And if your reason for not reviewing is the former, you should know that I've fixed that problem and lack of updates isn't a good reason for not reviewing anyway…**

**(coughs) Or maybe, I'm just being a review whore…either way, I'd like some reviews now. (Smiles politely)**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm starting a new writing tactic. I call it my "Becky, get your lazy butt on the computer and write already!" plan. Basically what that means is that I'm going to be writing/updating a new chapter just about every day, or every other day. I want my fics finished now, and complaining about them so far hasn't helped to accomplish that, merely dragged out the process. So I'm forcing myself to write as much as I possibly can, and I will be updating a LOT. Is this plan possible? Yes. Is it stupid? Perhaps. Anything anyone can do to stop me from attempting to do it anyway? Nope. I'm trying it out regardless of what may or may not happen and I'm hoping the results yield a positive. Right anyway, this note is becoming a bit dragged out, I'd say. Onto to the chapter which happens to be a little long today:**

It had been over two weeks since Chase had angrily stormed out on Erica. But what bothered her more was the fact that she didn't know why. There they were having a mildly pleasant conversation when all of sudden he just got so mad. Of course it had dawned on her that he was annoyed with her, as he put it, her doing the 'what thing,' but Erica was sure that it couldn't be the only cause. Something like that shouldn't have annoyed someone _that_ much.

But even more unnerving than trying to find out why he had gotten so mad, was trying to figure out why he was still mad. He seemed to be avoiding her, he wasn't making eye contact, and he wouldn't talk to her. Other than their daily routine of "Can I have the amulet of fantasies" he hadn't said another word. And Erica had become to accustom to the routine that she just automatically said "No" then several minutes later realized what had happened.

Erica tried talking to him. She would see him in a corridor, start to say a greeting, next thing she knew he rounded a corner and disappeared among the many halls.

And whatever Chase was upset about seemed to be affecting Wuya too. She was hardly talking to Erica anymore. She was sure that Chase had told her not to, but didn't understand why. So she had gone back to her enchanted map being her only form of communication; if it even deserved that term.

--

A few more days passed and Erica was no longer confused, but incredibly frustrated. She didn't _care_ if she had done something to upset Chase, _he_ was now irritating her more than she thought possible.

_I am putting a stop to this_. She thought one day.

It was very early in the morning. Almost five A.M. Erica was sure that Chase hadn't left his quarters, and made her way over to them. She hardly needed the map anymore. She was quickly learning where the important parts and rooms were and how to get there. All that remained was the mysterious hundreds of halls of dozens of odd doors that each led to a room more bizarre then the next.

Erica parked herself right outside Chase's door. _I will wait here all day if I have to._

But it didn't take all day. In fact, just minute after waiting the knob turned, the lock clicked, and the door swung open to reveal Chase full dressed and ready to tackle the day.

"Chase!" She exclaimed. He started walking down the hall, ignoring her. "Chase! Chase Young! You stop that! You stop that and you listen to me!" He didn't stop moving so she hurried after him.

"This is immature! This is stupid!" She kept on screaming. "Chase, I can be very persistent when I want to, you do not want to get into this with me." Still, no response.

"Chase, come on!" Erica yelled snatching at his arm and grabbing onto his wrist.

"WHAT?" Chase yelled back, whipping around to face her.

"Why…why are you ignoring me?" She said trying to form the words quickly before he left.

"I'm not." He growled ripping his hand free, turning around and continuing down the hall.

"Ow!" Erica exclaimed looking down at her fingers. "You are a lot stronger than you look…"

"Tell me something I don't know." He answered arrogantly.

"No, I will tell you something do you do know. You want this." She taunted. Chase couldn't make sense of what she said and turned around to face her once more. She was holding the amulet of fantasies up at shoulders length. "You want this." She repeated. "And do you think you have any chance whatsoever of getting it by ignoring me?"

Chase snorted and took a step forward. "You surprise me, Valetciay. I didn't think you had any bargaining skills in you." He continued approaching her.

"I like to haggle." She said keeping her ground. If he wanted some sort of stand off, he would get it. She wasn't backing down. Erica thought she deserved more respect than she was getting, and she was willing to fight for it this time.

"Seems we have something in common." He said when he reached her. "I like to haggle to. Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement." He glanced to the shen gong wu that looked like a piece of jewelry dangling from her neck.

"Maybe we can," Erica answered while stuffing the glowing stone down her blouse. Then, summoning all the courage and boldness in her body she possibly could said, "when you stop being so rude." She added with a pompous smile.

Chase smirked. He then placed his hands on Erica shoulders.

"What are you- AH!" She screamed as he suddenly shoved her away and she gently hit the wall a foot behind her. The push and the impact didn't hurt, it was just surprising.

"You're all talk, Erica. If you want to negotiate then do it already; stop this stupid game." He said, his hands still on her shoulders.

"Do not touch me." She said pushing him away from her and sliding against the wall.

Chase chuckled. "All right, I correct myself. All talk and some fight."

_I can't do this…_

"Stop it already!" She screamed, sounding like her old, terrified self again, pulling at her hair, fresh tears of frustration forming. "What are you doing? What are we BOTH doing? This is…this is dumb."

"I agree." Chase sounded back to normal, too. "I shouldn't have pushed you. I'm sorry for that." He paused. "What did you come here to ask?"

She sighed. "Right, the question. Why have you been ignoring me lately? I mean it has been like…ten days or something-"

"More than that."

"Well, regardless, you and Wuya have been ignoring me. And you seemed awfully mad when you stormed out the other day and I do no know why. What did I do to make everyone here so mad at me?"

"It isn't something you did." Chase said quietly.

The tears were flowing freely now. "That does not even make sense." She said barely above a whisper.

"But that's the truth. It isn't something you did…it's more…my own doing."

" Oh goodness, 'it's not you it's me,' where have I heard that before?" She scoffed, her thoughts turning to Jeff.

"Well, it is the truth. You didn't do anything I'm just…" His voice trailed off.

"Yes?"

"I'm just frustrated, I suppose. You've been here…how many weeks? I think we're in months now…it wasn't supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to get the amulet and carry on with the plan. Things were not suppose to be this long."

"Is that it?" Erica asked, her voice rising. "You have been giving me the cold shoulder for so long because…because you are just frustrated!"

"Put very simply, yes."

"This is beyond stupid." Erica muttered to herself. "If you want it so much," she started retrieving the amulet. "Then take it."

"Are…are you serious?"

"NO I AM NOT SERIOUS!"

"Then why," Chase said, starting to twitch from anger. "Did you say it? That is just…as you would say, that is just mean."

"As is ignoring me." Erica said with a satisfied smile. "I was making a point."

Chase smiled back. "You make your point clearly. Fine, Wuya and I shall stop ignoring you."

"Good."

"But that doesn't mean you're off the hook. I'll keep you here ten years if I have to. You will give me that amulet."

"Why do you want it so badly anyway?" Erica asked, sitting down on the floor, leaning against the wall. "I mean we have sort of established why already, but I mean…why so much?"

"World domination?" Chase questioned, sitting next to her. "Who wouldn't want it?"

"I am not saying it would not be…interesting to rule the world but…do you not think things are okay as they are? I mean, I am not saying the world is perfect, but why not just live with it?" Erica asked. "There are more important things in life than power."

"Like what?" Chase snorted.

"Like…like family. And friends. Honesty and wisdom. Prosperity and…and charity." She said turning to him.

"Charity?" He repeated looking like he desperately wanted to laugh. "Please, name more things in life better than power. This is entertaining."

"Well what about…knowledge. Did I say that? Um…or, purity or forgiveness…or…um…I cannot think of anymore. Well, no, I can, I just do not think you would like it."

"What is it? What could possibly be better than power?"

"Love." Erica answered, leaning in slightly as she said.

"Love?" Chase repeated, also leaning so that they were so close their faces were almost touching. "Love…"

"Yes…love…" She said locking gazes with his.

"What on Earth would I do with love?" Chase said getting up bitterly. "You young humans are so naïve…" He started walking away leaving the girl sitting there her head hanging in the air.

**Heeheehee…you thought they were gonna kiss didn't you? Fear not…something is coming soon…Speaking of which, do you guys think I should change the genre of this story? It's currently Angst/General, do you think it should be Angst/Romance? Because as I'm sure you've guessed the romance is coming soon…**

**Right, anyway please answer that question because I'm never to sure about genres. Also, I might take a **_**very**_** little break from this story to finish my other one. It's only got about two or three chapters left. Right well, review please!**


	21. Chapter 21

**As I said, I was taking a small break to finish up another fic and start a new one. But here we have the next chapter to this story. And sorry but it's a bit short:**

"You, speak." Chase commanded one day while watching Erica read a book.

"Um…okay?" She replied marking her page and putting the book down onto her bed. She had been reading in her room peacefully when Chase barged in suddenly.

"You've been very quiet these past days. Why?" Chase asked. "Well, you're always quiet but you seem particularly quiet…And I want to know why."

"Well…I do not actually know really." Erica answered with a little shrug. "Well…I have been thinking about my mother a lot. Wuya said something during dinner a few nights ago that reminded me of her and I have not thought about anyone else since."

"So you've just been thinking about your mother? The amulet isn't bothering you or anything? Because if it is-"

"Even if it was I would not hand it over." Erica answered firmly. "But yes, I have just been thinking about my late mom…how she died…"

"Oh?"

"I was there, you know, when it happened..."

"That's uh…that's disturbing."

"Yes I suppose…but it was not really that disturbing as it sounds. I did not see anything. But I was still there."

"How is that even possible?" Chase asked curiously.

"Well I suppose if you want me to tell you the story…" Her voice trailed off. "You know, I have done a lot of these little 'heart-to-heart' things with you, you would think that you, in return, would-"

"I am not as open with certain things as other people are. I find it stupid to talk about the past." Chase cut her off.

"But then why do you always seem so interested in mine?"

"As I've told you, I know my past. What I don't know is yours. So, mom dying, what happened?"

"Not even going to pretend to be sensitive, are you? All right, fine, so…the uh…story: As I have told you, I was four years old when it happened."

"Yes I know that." Chase said annoyed. "Get onto the stuff I don't."

_Honestly…so rude sometimes…_Erica thought to herself. "We were out together one day, running errands. Going to the post office, I think."

"What's a post office?" Chase asked confused.

"It is a place where you can mail a letter to someone else. Anyway, so we were walking around town doing errands. I was in my stroller. I was a bit of a baby when it came to my stroller. I wanted to be pushed everywhere. Sometimes my parents would try to get me to walk, but I just did not want to."

"Interesting…what's a stroller?"

"You really do not know anything about the modern world, do you? Okay…well…A stroller is like um…how to explain…oh, I know, have you heard of a wheelbarrow?"

"Yes, that one I know." Chase answered.

"Okay, well, a stroller is kind of like a wheelbarrow you put your kids in." Erica explained.

"That's…odd. Regardless, continue."

"Right, so we were crossing the street, I was in my stroller. The post office was right in view, I could see it perfectly…" Her voice suddenly stopped.

"And then what?"

"I…really do not know what exactly happened. I think perhaps…that some of the gravel in street was loose. Or there was a crack or something. Whatever it was, my mom tripped on it." She paused, an uncertain expression on her face.

"Yes, Erica, I know what a street is." Chase interjected, annoyed.

"Right…" Erica said, eyes starting to tear very slightly. "So…she tripped, and fell forward. And…the car just never stopped."

"So she was hit by a car?" Chase asked.

"Mmmhmm. How do you…?"

"Jack Spicer told me what a car was once. But, why weren't you hit?"

"Oh right, I forgot that part. When my mom fell, her hands forced the stroller forward. I guess you could say I rolled to safety. However, it was quite a push and it tipped over backwards. That was back when strollers did not have all the safety features they have today, so I started crying because my back hit the pavement quite hard. And there I was…stuck, buckled in the seat starring up into the sky. There were no clouds that day, I remember. It was very clear. And it was like I was starring up into an endless ocean of blue…I did not even know what was going on behind me…"

"Interesting…"

"I remember, all around me people were screaming. Probably all rushing to see if my mom was okay. No one even noticed me. I could hear them screaming and running and yelling but I could not see them. I did not really understand what was going on…it was scary."

"I can only imagine…" Chase commented.

"I just starred at the sky. A few minutes later the ambulance and stuff showed up. I guess someone watching called the emergency number. A fireman saw my stroller. He was very nice and sympathetic, though at the time I did not understand why. I remember his face quite well…he lifted me out of the stroller and took my in the ambulance with my mom. He did not want me to look at her body, so he kept asking me questions as a distraction. My mom always thought it was a good idea for kids to know emergency contacts and everything. I mean, there are some five year olds that do not even know their last name, and some nine year olds that do not even know their own phone numbers. But my mom taught me, because she knew it was important. So I gave the fireman all my information and he called my dad at work."

"Anything else you remember?"

"They took my to the hospital waiting room. These nurses and doctors kept telling me things like 'they did all they could, but it was too late' and they just kept saying it. Trying to tell me she was dead…I was too young to really know what was going on. I had heard of death, of course, but I did not understand it. My dad showed up about a half-hour before. He just picked me up and hugged me…and then it all sort of sunk in. We spent the rest of the day crying into each other's shoulders."

"That's a pretty sad story…"

"Well, can you honestly say you expected something happy? Well, actually…there was a bit of a bright side. The car did not kill my mother, but she was completely brain dead. The hospital had her in a coma. My mother loved life and wanted to help everyone around her. She said in her will that she did not want to be kept vegetable, that she wanted to be an organ donor. I was told that her heart and liver saved this little kids life. I do not know what they did with the other harvested organs…"

"I didn't really understand any of that."

"Oh Chase…you really should try and familiarize yourself with the twenty-first century." Erica told him. "Oh, and you know what else? For a while me and my dad were really worried about what would happen with me. Apparently my mom's parents thought they deserved custody. But my dad had already adopted me after my parents married, and the judge ruled that I would probably be better off growing up with my dad. But just think…I could have been raised by my grandparents…how different life would be…So, Chase, how did your parents die?"

"What do you mean?"

"I told you my story, now you tell me yours." Erica explained. "It's called bargaining."

"Oh you know what… I just remembered, I have something to do!" Chase said and darted out the door.

"Chase! Come on! That is not fair!" Erica called as he disappeared. "Ugh…men."

**Not a very good ending note…oh well. You know, the scary thing is, Erica's story is pretty much true. Me and my mother were out once going to pick up my sister from school. And I think I was Erica's age to. Anyway, my mom really did trip on a crack in the street and the stroller really did fall backwards, though it didn't roll forward. Anyway, it was basically the exact same situation, except the car that was coming ****did**** stop. And thank the Lord that it did, because otherwise it would've hit us both…So, yeah, that memory dawned on me while I was writing this chapter... Well, reviews would be nice!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry, meant to update yesterday; got distracted. Here's the next chapter, enjoy:**

"Chase, I have a question for you. A serious question." Erica said as Chase passed by in the hallway.

"All right! My sister died of an unknown disease, my mother died in a village fire and my dad's heart finally gave out of old age! I didn't want to repeat it because it's happened centuries ago and I just don't care anymore! It's not a story like your Mom's death, it just happened!" Chase shouted, annoyed.

"Actually…that was not what I was asking about. Goodness, when did we discuss that? Three days ago?" Erica asked. "Um, anyway, I wanted to ask something else…"

"Oh…" Chase said more calmly. "What?"

"The amulet…I…I mean, I figured out that I have been here for over two and a half months. If you really want it…why have you not just… taken it?"

"I can't take it. It has to be freely given."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Dashi, the man that made it, knew it was a very powerful shen gong wu. Perhaps the most powerful. So he made that it could neither be played for, or wagered, in a xiaolin showdown."

"What is a Xiaolin showdown?" Erica interrupted.

"I'll explain later. Anyway, it was made so that whoever finds it and wears it gains ultimate possession until they die. Then it can taken by someone else. It has to be given up, it can't be taken. Sure, I could remove from you, but it would never work for me." Chase explained. "That is why you are here. You can either give it to me, or I can wait around for a few decades until you die. Honestly, the choice is ultimately yours."

"Oh…" Erica's expression changed. "So then if you get it when I die…then…not to imply anything, but then why have you not just…"

"What? Killed you?"

"Well…yes…" Erica squeaked.

"Because I'm not a murderer, Erica." Chase stated.

"In my defense, I never said that you were."

"You didn't have to say it." He said, slightly annoyed.

"Well really Chase, to be quite bold, you cannot blame me for assuming the worst. You kidnapped me, you are keeping me somewhere against my will, and to be honest sometimes you just plain scare me."

"Well…I'm sorry if you get scared so easily."

"Okay…but if Dashi made it so that it would always end up in someone's possession, then does that mean he planned it for my family to have it?"

"I don't know. Maybe…but it was probably just made that way so that any non-magical person would find it and keep it in their family forever, unaware of it's power. That way it would never be used."

"If Dashi did not want it used, why did he make it?"

"That is one of the many mysteries of this world." Chase told her. "No one knows why Dashi did what he did. He was one of the most influential men in history and barely anything it known about him."

"Right…okay I have another question. It is not a serious one, I am just curious."

"Shoot."

"What is your favorite color?"

Chase's mouth hung opened, stunned. "How is that relevant to anything?"

"It is not relevant. I just wanted to know."

"Uh…all right…I don't know. I don't exactly pick favorites. I suppose…dark green, If I had to choose."

"Okay…Um, I have another question; also, not serious."

"Yes?" Chase echoed.

"Do you want to just talk some more?"

"What _is_ it with you in talking?" Chase raised his voice.

"Well, this is the first time to talk I have had in quite some time. I used to have many friends to 'hang out' with, but after I dropped out of school to care for daddy, they just stopped calling. I guess you learn who all of your real friends are when you are in a time of crisis." She told him.

"I suppose you do." Chase agreed.

"You know what…I have been here for like three or four months or something. That means that my birthday passed…"

"Um…happy birthday?"

"And if my birthday has passed, then I am eighteen…and if I am eighteen…then that means that I am a legal adult!" Erica said excited.

"Congratulations?" Chase said, still unsure how to reply to her.

"I can vote now…I can get my driver's license…oh, what else can I do now? There has to be more…oh, I can get a credit card…and a job…goodness…" She then sighed. "Well, I suppose I cannot do any of that now because of this whole situation…but when I am free…"

"I've never liked the way the legal system works." Chase said suddenly. "How is that someone who is day over eighteen is more mature and trustworthy then someone who has been seventeen for three-hundred-sixty-four days? It just doesn't make sense to me!" Chase exclaimed. "How are they more mature?"

"Well…they are not. But that is just the way it works, I guess. Still…I can do whatever I want…I can drink…I can get married…I can buy a house…" Erica continued to babble. Chase becoming more annoyed by the minute at her ridiculous babbling.

"Well, hate to 'burst your bubble,' as Wuya would say, but right now we are in China. And in China the legal age of consent is twenty three."

Erica's face fell. "You are kidding me."

"I'm not. Sorry."

"That…that just is not fair…"

"Life's not fair."

"I hate that phrase. I really do."

"Sorry again, But I have some errands to take care of." Chase said walking off.

"Okay! We can talk again later!" Erica called.

"Of course we can…" Chase muttered, cringing.

**I know it's a bit short. But this was sort of just a 'filler' chapter. Also, about the China's legal age of consent being 23; I read somewhere online that it was 23, but I don't know for a fact that it is. I never bothered to check if it was true or not. So, I'm just assuming that it is, because I'm too lazy to go research. Anyway, please review now.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry, I know it's been a while. See, with the end of school nearing my sister has been home more often and she's been COMPLETELY hogging the main computer; which is the one I write my stories on. And whenever she gets off it's because it's either dinner time or she's going to bed. Anyway, this is the first time in a few days I've been able to get on the computer at a time that is actually convenient. Right, well, this note it long enough:**

Chase heard the scream before the _Thud_. He had been meditating in his room when he heard the familiar _pitter-patter_ of Erica's tiny feet on their way to him. He was so used to the routine by now, that he actually jumped at the fact that it was disturbed by something.

Worried, he jumped up and threw open the door. Erica was slumped against the wall, clutching at her right ankle with a pained facial expression.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I…I just, oh, OW, should not move that…I just fell over…I-I do not know why." She shrugged. "I guess I am just clumsy. I have always been rather clumsy, but usually just when I am reaching into my kitchen cabinets; they are very high up cabinets."

Chase nodded, in deep thought. "Let me see it." He said sitting down and pulling off her shoe.

"Ow! A little warning please!" Ignoring her he turned over her foot and examined the ankle for a minute before placing the shoe back on and getting back up.

"Is it bad?"

"It's not broken; just very twisted. It'll hurt for a while, and probably become swollen, but you'll be okay. It will heal."

"Uh…that is good, I guess."

"Can you walk?" Chase asked, concerned.

"I…hmm…let us see…OH! OW! NO!" She collapsed on the floor as she tried to stand.

Chase sighed. "Well, you'll need rest…and I can't just leave you there…All right, lean forward."

"Um…okay?" Erica replied bending forward. Chase put his arm around her and picked her up, in a some-what bridal style.

"There. I'll carry you to your room where you can rest." He said. "It's a shame that your room is all the way on the other side of the cave."

"Yes it is…" Erica put her arms around Chase's neck for support. "Well…this is…this is awkward…"

Chase didn't reply, merely continued down the hall on the way to her room.

"So…Chase, I was thinking about what you said…about how you have to wait until I die before you can take the amulet? So, anyway, I was just…I mean, if that is the case then…anyone can take it, right?"

"That is correct."

"So…what is to stop Wuya or someone else from taking it?"

"There isn't anything stopping them. For a while Wuya was 'competing' with me to see who could get you to give them the amulet, but she gave up on that. She thinks you won't hand it over and she's just waiting for you to drop down dead."

"That…sounds pleasant. Well, what do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"About competing for the amulet?"

Chase stopped walking. "What do I think…I think you'll give it to me." He answered then continued on his way.

"You do?" Erica asked, surprised.

"I do, yes."

"Interesting…wait, so if Wuya is waiting for me to die…I mean, you already said you were not a murderer, but I do not know Wuya as well and…well, you have known her for quite some time…"

"You're asking if Wuya would try to kill you?" Erica nodded. "No, I don't think so. In all the years I've known her I don't remember her ever killing anyone…but I wouldn't put it past her to curse someone…" His voice trailed off.

Erica gasped. "You do not think she caused me to fall, do you? Maybe…maybe she wanted me to hit my head!"

"Hmm…interesting theory. I don't know. I'll have to ask her about it." The two continued talking until they came upon Erica's bedroom door.

"Oww…ow, careful." Erica cried as Chase bumped her foot on the open door way.

"Sorry…" Chase said as he walked over to her bed.

"So, do you want me to –Ooof!" Erica exclaimed as Chase dropped her onto the bed. "That was not as gentle as I hoped it would be…"

"Well…I'm not a very gentle person." Chase replied. "You should probably prop that foot up. I'll get you an extra pillow; there's a closet right outside." He said departing.

Erica sighed, leaning her head back. After a minute Chase returned and tossed the pillow at her. She caught it but it fumbled out of her arms as she placed it under her foot to elevate it and landed on the floor, out of her reach.

"Um Chase, could you…"

"You're really quite pathetic sometimes, you know?" Chase said picking up the pillow and adjusting it for her.

"Well, we all have our pathetic moments. Mine just happen to show up more often." Erica said in defense.

"Right, well, I'm leaving now."

"No! Please do not!"

"Why?"

"Because if I have to rest for like a week or something I do not want to be all alone while it happens. Please, can you just stay for a minute and talk to me?"

"Fine." Chase snarled.

"All right, just sit down here then." She said patting the edge of the bed. "So…tell me…what is your life ambition?" She asked as he sat.

"To rule the world."

"Oh yes, I should have guessed that one…"

"What's yours?"

"Pardon?"

"What is your life ambition?"

"I-I do not know…" Erica said. "I have not really thought about it. Well…there is one thing…it is not exactly a life goal or anything…just a little thing I would like to do one day. Just something I want to accomplish…"

"And that is?"

"Oh…it is kind of silly…"

"Just tell me."

"All right…I…I have always thought, it would be really romantic to be kissed on the Eiffel tower in Paris…all right, go ahead and laugh now."

"Why would I laugh?"

"I…um…well, because it is pretty silly."

"I don't think it's silly. I agree with you; it's romantic. I don't particularly care for romance, but it is romantic. So…" Chase trailed off, trying to think of something to further the conversation. Though he acted annoyed, secretly he did enjoy these conversations to some extent. "Have you ever been to the Eiffel Tower?"

"I have been to France, but I have never been in Paris or on the tower. I bet it is beautiful."

"It is."

"You have been there?"

"Just once…many years ago." Chase answered. "It's probably changed since then, though…" They continued to talk for another half and hour before Erica let Chase go.

**I was trying out a new writing style with this chapter. So, I'd appreciate it if you told me your thoughts on it so I know if people like it or dislike it more than my usual form.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry, sorry, sorry, busy, busy, busy! Enjoy:**

Two days later Erica was still resting her painful, swollen ankle. Chase continued to visit through out the day when he had free time to talk with her. And he had arranged for the jungle cats to bring her three meals a day and a min-day snack.

"What's Italy like?" Chase asked out of the blue as he came in and sat beside her.

"What do you mean?" Erica asked confused.

"I was only there for a minute when I went looking for the wu. What's it like? What's it like living there?"

"I…I do not know, I cannot really say. It is beautiful. It really is. The coast is so beautiful. Um…as for living there, I cannot really answer as I have nothing to compare it to…well, no, I guess I can compare it to this…" She paused and Chase beckoned her to continue. "Well, it is a lot better there then here. That is not to say I do not like China, or your home. You truly do live in magical, wonderful place. I just do not want to be here right now, you know, with the situation. I guess it is kind of boring at home but I am happy there."

"Hmmm."

"It is nice here though…I hate admitting that. It is like…I do not know, it is just weird to say it. But maybe when…never mind."

"When what?"

"Maybe when…um," She paused and lowered her voice. "Maybe when we work this whole amulet thing out and I go home…maybe I could…visit… every now and then…uh…you know, as…as a social thing…" She waited for him to laugh.

"Maybe we can…IF we work out this amulet thing."

"Yes, there is always an 'if'…"

"Why do you have the lights off in here? It's so dark." Chase asked abruptly, striding over to the light switch.

"Oh, I turned them off because- NO! DO NOT TURN IT ON!" Erica shouted and Chase pulled his hand away from the switch.

"Why?"

"I…well, it is kind-of weird, but this morning when the jungle cat that brought me my breakfast turned the light on, it seemed really bright and was hurting my eyes so I told him to turn it off as he left..." Erica's voice trailed off. "That has got to be the oddest sentence I have ever said…"

"It hurt your eyes?"

"Yes…it seemed extremely intense. I think…maybe, do you think the lights got brighter? Somehow? Did you turn them up or something?"

"No…" Chase answered.

"Well…that is odd…wait, you have that face."

"I have what?"

"That face you get when you are thinking."

"The face I…what?"

"Whenever you are in deep thought you make this face. And you are making that face right now. So, I assume you know something. What to you know, Chase?"

"Nothing. I don't know anything, and I certainly don't make a face when I think."

"Chase," Erica said stubbornly. "You know something; tell me what it is."

He sighed deeply. "Well, it's just a theory…a hypothesis, about the light thing…"

"I am listening."

"Well…maybe…the lights have to do with…um…I know you don't like this subject, I don't want to bring this up again."

"Bring what up? Oh, I am so confused."

"The…vampire thing. Vampires are sensitive to light…you know because…"

"It can kill a full a vampire?"

"Yeah…"

Erica sighed, her eyes sliding down the amulet. "It seems lately that everything has to do with this amulet, and my potential death as a result of having it. It…it is an odd subject…"

"Well…sorry." Chase said, sympathetically. "How's that ankle?" He asked, changing the subject.

"It is fine if I keep it still. Hurts a little when I move it. I tried standing up today."

"Oh? What happened?"

"It hurt. Really badly. I mean, it hurt a lot." She said, grimacing. "But, I was able to stand for a minute. And then I collapsed back onto the bed and rested."

"Well…It's progress." Chase said trying to be optimistic.

"I suppose. Well, on the bright side the rest of my leg is fine. And my other ankle is fine. And I can hobble around on one foot to go to the bathroom and stuff. I am not totally impaired, it is just painful."

"Well…I have to…" Chase's voice trailed off as he gestured toward the door.

"You can go. It is fine with me." She said releasing him.

**It seemed half-and-half on the writing style from last chapter, so I tried mixing it with my usual style to create a new style that's just as fun to read but enjoyable for me to write as well. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. So…please tell me what you think of this new style.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Only a few more chapters left. I might take a small break from my other story to finish this one more quickly. Enjoy:**

Erica's healing process had hit a plateau. Over the next two and half weeks it continued to be the same. It didn't get any worse, but it wasn't feeling any better. Wuya had started performing spells to ease the pain, but she wasn't to sure if she should try healing it. The witch was worried about what the side-effects might be.

But the trio was more worried about Erica's welfare. Why should it be taking so long to heal? The suggestion came up that perhaps it was broken. But after a few tests that theory was quickly unproven.

"What if there is something permanently wrong with it?" Erica had worriedly asked after the ninth day.

"I'm sure it's fine Erica. Pain can be a strange thing sometime. It'll all be better soon." Chase has told her reassuringly. And so they just accepted the fact that sometimes injuries take a while to heal.

"I suppose that makes sense." She had replied, being rational as always. "I find emotional pain can be like that…"

"Yes…yes it can…"

--

It was now the officially the third week since the injury. Chase woke up, meditated for an hour, ate his breakfast with Wuya, and then made his way to the kitchen to check that Erica had eaten her breakfast. When it was confirmed that she had, he departed the kitchen and headed towards Erica's room for his usual mid-morning visit.

He was shocked to find that she wasn't in her usual spot, lying on the bed, face up, but that she wasn't even in the room at all! He checked the rock-door to the shower cave; no on there.

Starting to panic, he turned on his heals and was about to leave the room when he noticed a small piece of lavender parchment on the dresser. Intrigued, he picked up the curiously-colored paper, and read:

_Chase-_

_The oddest thing happened this morning; I woke up and my ankle felt fine! Imagine that? I guess you were right about pain being weird sometimes. Anywho, I decided that I would 'celebrate' so I am spending my day walking around the castle as much as I can. Honestly, my legs feel so stiff I do not want to stand still for one moment. Well, I just wanted to leave this note so you would not get worried if you could not find me. If you want to find me, I will probably be the sanctuary later on._

_Erica_

Chase had to read the note several times before he could completely comprehend it. It wasn't that Erica had sloppy hand writing or anything, she just wrote very, very small.

Placing the note back on the dresser, he couldn't help but spy a brown leather book next to it. It had a symbol of a feather on the cover and there was a simple magnetic latch holding the whole thing shut.

"A feather…" Chase said out loud, thinking. "Why would there be a feather on this? Curious…"

Chase had never violated anyone's privacy before. He didn't think it was right to spy on someone. He believed it rude to listen in on conversations. And he would never dream of reading someone's diary. But here he stood starring down at the mysterious book with a burning desire to open it up.

"Well…if she didn't want anyone looking at this…then she would've hidden it…" Chase said to himself. "So it's perfectly justifiable if I read it." He said, opening the latch and flipping open to the first page.

The first thing he noticed was that the page was the same purple shade as the letter Erica had left behind. _Well now I know where the note came from,_ he thought to himself.

Scanning the front cover he noticed a sketch of a red heart with the words "Jeff and Erica forever" written inside it. The words were hard to read because they had been scribbled over with red pen a bunch of times.

_Am I really going to read this girl's diary…_Chase thought about it for a minute, starring down at the heart. _Yep. I am._

He turned his attention to the first page and read Erica's tiny hand writing:

_June 6__th__ 2002_

_Dear Diary,_

_My best friend Marley saw this diary at a shop in London while she was on vacation. It reminded her of me so she bought for me as a little gift. Isn't that so nice?_

_I have never had a diary before, but I think it will be great fun. So I am going to try and write in it as much as I can._

_But how about we start with the basics?_

_My name is Erica Valetciay, I live in Venice, Italy, and I am thirteen yeas old. So If I ever loose this, then whoever may be reading this, please return this diary to me. _

_So, today was really, really fun. Danielle's boyfriend, Max, bought tickets to-_

Chase stopped reading at the sound a small _Thunk _noise. Looking around frantically, he saw that it was nothing and looked back to the diary. Taking a bunch of the pages in his hand at a time he flipped forward until he found an entry from a few days back.

_Ankle still hurting. This really stinks._

She had begun the entry, underlining the words several times.

_Talked with Chase again today. He actually told me some things about his childhood. I am still shocked he told me. The man is so secretive sometimes…I wonder if that is it._

_It really is strange. I am blushing just writing about this subject (again!). But still, I cannot deny the feeling._

_I fancy him._

Chase started blushing himself. He knew he should stop reading, but he didn't want to.

_There. I said it again. Well, I wrote it again._

_I don't really get it. I just…like him. Well, I think I like him. I can't really explain it. It's just…this weird feeling I get whenever I see him. And…and every time I say something to him I bite my tongue afterwards and think "Why did I say something so stupid?"_

_Ugh, I haven't had a crush in so long I forget what it feels like. How pathetic is that? I'm a teenager; I should be having a new boyfriend every other week. Of course, I don't think I'll be having any boyfriends soon._

_That's it. That's just it. I like Chase, but I hate the circumstances. I mean, I really hate them. I love it here in this place, I have these feelings for Chase (oh, I said it again! I mean, wrote.), but I just really, really hate this situation. __**Really.**_

_I wonder what he feels about me? He acts like he cares about me a great deal. But does he like me to? He said something once about not being able to love. Something about a potion. He started it explaining it once but then I'm sad to say I tuned him out and starting starring into those bizarre, beautiful, green eyes of his…_

_Oh goodness! What is wrong with me?_

_Here I am blabbering away yet again about strange feelings and weird situations. I wonder sometimes if this is all the necklaces doing. At least I paid attention to that little explanation._

_Well, my pen is running out of ink._

The entry had ended with those words. Chase read the pages a few more times. Did he really just read what he thought he had read?

Turning the page, he was about to read the next entry when he heard footsteps. His heart-rate quickened to a dangerously high pace as he snapped the cover shut, placed it back where it was, and sprinted over the door and opened up…only to be face to face with Erica.

"Oh, Chase!" She gasped, clutching at her chest. "You startled me."

"Yeah…you…you startled me to…uh, I got your note."

"My…? Oh right! That! So I did remember to rip it out..."

"Pardon?" Chase asked confused, breathing deeply, suppressing the adrenaline rush.

"I thought that maybe I forgotten to put the note out, so I was coming back here to check that I had ripped it out." Erica explained. "But now I know that I have, and that you have read it. And I am happy to report that my ankle is all better now." She added with a smile.

"Yeah…I read it…Question; why is there a feather on your diary?" The moment Chase said it he had to use all his will power to resist the urge to cover his mouth. _Why did I say that? I'm an idiot…_

"Oh…kind of embarrassing story actually." Erica blushed. "In first grade I went on a class trip to a science museum. And they had this swimming pool that had been emptied and then filled with feathers. It was some sort of demonstration, or experiment, I cannot really remember it that well. Anyway, I ended up tripping and falling into the pool. So silly, I know, but the museum is the one who should have had a guard rail. Anyway, you can only imagine the teasing after THAT. So, since then I have sort of had the nick-name 'feathers.' Silly, is it not?"

"Yeah…very funny…just wondering, is all."

"How did you know the book out was my diary?" Erica asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I…I…lucky guess." Chase said. "I gotta go." He said dashing off in the opposite direction.

**Wow…major bombshell. I've really been looking forward to writing this chapter, so tell me what you think!**


	26. Chapter 26

**So sorry that I haven't been updating as much. As I mentioned in another chapter somewhere I've been having "major friend drama." Anyway, I don't want to bring up the issues on fanfiction of all places but…Ugh, this particular friend, well, she is really, really, ****really ****pissing me off lately and I've been in a very bad/sour/bitter mood, and I don't really enjoy writing when I'm in a bad mood. But I am forcing myself to write because I'm going to be gone from the 18****th**** to the 29****th ****(Sudden Family vacation-couldn't get out of it.) and I need to get this story done before then. So…here's the next chapter. I tried to make it good despite my anger. If it's crap then blame my friend:**

Chase had started using his free time to avoid Erica while he thought about the situation. So, she liked him, he would keep thinking. The thought had never really occurred to him before he read her diary. Sure, she'd opened up to him several times. And yes she wasn't acting nearly as upset as most kidnapped people would. But still. _Erica_ like _him_. Maybe she had that syndrome where people who are kidnapped start to like their kidnappers because they're so used to them, Chase tried to convince himself. But he couldn't remember the name of the syndrome and started to think that maybe he had just made it up in his mind.

But did he like her back, he would often ask himself. Well, yes, he cared for her well-being. He liked seeing her happy. She was enjoyable to be with. And she was quite pretty, in his opinion, anyway. But did he actually like her like that?

"Love is quite a complicated thing, isn't it?" He had rhetorically asked Wuya out of the blue. She glanced at him lustfully.

"It sure is…"

It was clear with Wuya. She liked him, but he didn't like her. But with Erica there was this…doubt. Maybe he did like her. But how was he supposed to know? Well, he was certainly thinking about her a lot, but there wasn't anything else going on in his life right now. What was he suppose to think about if not her?

It was all confusing to him. He, Chase Young, prince of darkness was being confused by something as simple as love. Love. There was that word. Could he love? He had always thought that selling his soul to be immortal would take away his ability to love. Wasn't that how it worked? But…he didn't know that for certain.

He loved winning. He loved the idea of world domination. He had a certain fondness for his jungle cats. But loving another human being? That just didn't seem possible…

Then again…

The two weren't exactly humans.

But that was just a technicality. Did that even really matter? Was there some stupid little loop hole? No, of course there wasn't a loop hole. But was there even a problem in the first place? He didn't know for a _fact_ that he couldn't love.

_But I'm getting ahead of myself, here,_ Chase thought to himself. _She just likes me; she didn't say anything about love. And certainly, I can like, can't I?_

But did he like _her_? That was the big question.

"How do you know if you like someone?" Chase asked Wuya. "Erm…you know…in that 'special' way?"

"Well," Wuya's eyes opened wildly. "I think you know when-"

"You know what, don't answer that." Chase quickly cut her off. He didn't want to get into this with her. She would probably take it the wrong way.

--

"Chase!"

"What?" Chase jumped several feet into the air as Erica surprised him in his quarters.

"Goodness, you seem on edge. I am sorry if I scared you." She quickly apologized in her oh-so-apologetic manner.

"I don't get scared." Chase snapped. "You just startled me."

"Oh, sorry again. Anyway…I was wondering, um…now, maybe this in my imagination but…"

"Yes?"

"Have…have you been…ignoring me?"

"Have I been…what?"

"Well, I just noticed is all, is that in the past week you just have sort of ignored me a bit. Er, well, it seemed that way."

"Oh…right…" Chase wanted to hold his tongue. He didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to say it. But he couldn't help himself. "I read your dairy!" He half-shouted at her.

"Oh that is fine…wait I mean…wait…what?" Erica looked very confused.

"I…er…the other day…I feel like I should tell you…it's only fair…um…" _Just lie, stupid!_ He mentally yelled at himself. "When you were out walking…I um…well your dairy was out…and well, I didn't know it was your diary at the time…so I just sort of picked it up and…read it." He added a small smile. "Um, not all of it of course! You know…just sort of…skimmed."

"Oh…I figured as much. It looked like it was in a different place that day then where I left it." She said calmly.

"Yeah…wait, so…s-so, you're not m-mad?" After months of the reverse, now Erica was making him stutter.

"Nah, I mean, you said yourself you did not know. I can not really blame you or be mad as I probably would have done the same thing. Curiosity is very powerful. It…really, Chase, it is okay, I mean it is not like I wrote…" Suddenly Erica's facial expression made a drastic change. "Oh…"

"Oh is right."

"You read…oh…you read my diary…you read…oh…you…oh my gosh…you read…you read my diary…so then you…you read…" She didn't seem capable of forming words. "You read…_that_...?"

"Yeah…I read _that_…" Chase shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh…oh my…oh…I…oh…so then…you…you read that…oh…" She paused. "Um, of course, it was all just the rambling of a little girl, of course…you know…uh…nothing serious…uh, nothing serious at all…you know, just…just…ramblings." She attempted to lie but it was easy to see through it.

Chase started to open his mouth but Erica cut him off again. Her voice quick, high-pitched, and nervous sounding.

"Of course, it does not really matter anyway…I mean…no big deal. I mean…you're over a thousand years older than me anyway…So it…er…I mean…nothing could really happen…I mean, the age difference…is really…"

"Well, you did say yourself that you believed love knows no age, gender, or race." Chase wasn't really thinking anymore, just speaking.

"Well yes…I did say that…and I do mean that…but I mean still…I…" Erica started blushing. "I…well…um…do you…no, never mind."

"What?" Chase asked. "I just…told you a lot…you…you owe me."

"I…well, yes, I do…" She started blushing even more. Chase wondered if her rosy cheeks would ever go back to their normal pastey-white color. "I…oh God, this is so much worse than the feather thing…I never knew a person could be this embarrassed…I think I know how Lacey felt that time Eric 'pantsed' her in the middle of the school yard…actually, I think I feel worse…not that I can really know exactly how she felt or anything, but she did run away in tears, and right now I sort of feel like-"

"Erica!" Chase snapped.

"What?"

"You're rambling."

"Oh…right. I am. Yes…"

"You were going…um…you were going to ask something…?" Chase said. _It's decision time._

"I…well, yes…I mean…since…things are all up in the air now…I was wondering…Oh, I feel dizzy…" Erica clutched at her head and sat on the edge of Chase's bed.

"Okay…you can take your time…" Chase sat next to her so closely that her wobbly little knees kept knocking into his.

"No, no, I need to just say it already." She scolded herself. "I…well…since the feelings are out…and there…there are no more…you know, secrets anymore…well…I just…I have to wonder…how…er…how you felt…um, you know, about me…?" She closed her eyes and bit her tongue. Slowly she opened one eye and peered at Chase's blank expression.

Chase didn't answer. He just looked at her. And he kept starring at her as she opened the other eye slowly and peered at him with anxiety. The color had drained from her face, expecting the worse.

Chase didn't open his mouth to speak. He merely leaned in forward…

And kissed her.

--

**Oh…Surprisingly, I like how this came out. There's all that nervous tension, I just like how I built it up. I was going to describe this kiss, but then I thought, why? Simplicity is sometimes better than mass amounts of detail. (Winks) Both versions came out well though. Guess I'm just good with stuff! Ahem, But, enough praising myself and tooting my own horn, tell me what you think!**


	27. Chapter 27

**This is the late time I'll be updating before I come back from vacation, so enjoy it:**

"Is there a reason we're in here?" Chase asked after intently watching Erica playing the instrument for a moment. They were in the piano room, sharing the bench again.

Ten minutes before, Erica had pulled out of the kiss just as things were heating up. Without explanation she asked what the nearest room was, that wasn't a bedroom. Chase had replied the piano room and the two silently made their way there. Erica had been playing a slow song for three minutes now.

"I…I…we need to um…figure out…er, where this is going." Erica replied breaking her concentration from the ivory keys, but continuing to play.

"What do you mean by that?" Chase asked confused.

"I mean like…us, where we see this…relationship… going."

"In your diary you made it very clear that you wanted to be with me. Are you saying you have doubts?"

"N-no…well…not exactly. I just…I just do not want to jump into some boyfriend/girlfriend thing before we talk about it." Erica explained.

"Always with you and the talking." Chase sighed. "All right, okay, we'll talk…" His voice trailed off. "I've never done this before."

"I do not have much experience either…"

"Well…how did you and Jeff do this?" Erica's fingers froze, lingering over a key, producing a loud note. Slowly, the sound faded away.

"You…you…you actually want me to compare you to…Jeff?" Erica finally asked after a silence.

"Well when you say it like that…" Chase paused and looked down. He begun playing a simple song as Erica stopped playing.

"You are learning." She states.

"Sort of…Forgot most of everything you taught me, but I remembered what the songs _sounded_ like so I experimented until I remembered the sequence of keys. I can't read sheet music, I tried."

"So you are learning by ear. That is good." Erica said simply, watching his fingers glide over the piano.

"So…you were going to tell me about Jeff?"

Erica sighed. "There is not much to tell. We basically jumped into things…and we all know where that ended up…"

"Oh…"

"I met him when I was twelve. He was eighteen."

"Oh…wow. I didn't realize you were that far apart."

"Well, six years is not that bad…" Erica defended herself feebly. "But, anyway, I was twelve. One of my friends, who was thirteen, started hanging out with an older crowd. She wanted to be cool or something, I guess."

"That's dumb. Being older doesn't mean they're 'cooler'."

"I know." Erica agreed and then the two shared a laugh. "Anyway, she introduced to me to him. He had a girlfriend at the time…in fact, he had quite a few girlfriends at the time. And from the time I was twelve to the time I was nearly fourteen he had a handful of different girlfriend. I can not say for sure that he was cheating on them to, but I assume it."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Chase commented.

"Now, when I turned fourteen he had just broken up with a semi-serious girlfriend. He was upset I guess…He…well…he started flirting with me a lot. And I mean really flirting. It was not just like…I was thinking he was flirting because I was single fourteen year old girl. He really was flirting with me. He showed interest." She stopped.

"Go on."

"Well naturally I was flattered. This twenty year-old, gorgeous boy was flirting with me!" She exclaimed. "But…as much as I did want to be with him back…and tried to be with him back, my friends went crazy. Erica he's too old for you! Erica, he's in college! Erica, it's illegal! They would tell me."

"Well, they were right." Chase said gently.

"Yes I know. I knew it then to, I just did not want to know it. I ignored everyone. I am not proud of that. I was being selfish and stupid. I would talk about him all the time, I would visit his dorm room whenever I could, and I would blow off friends to see him if he said he would be in town. It was…I was horrible to my friends. Eventually that group of them left me."

"Oh…that's sad."

"No, I deserved it. My friends even told my dad. He tried to stop me but…" Erica sighed. "That was really the first time me and my dad ever… 'hated' each other." She paused. "First and last." She added firmly.

"Is there anything else?"

"Oh, yes, lots." Erica said and continued. "Finally after a year of no friends and sneaking about to his dorm every other night, I realized I was not exactly happy. I had just had what was possibly _the_ loneliest fifteenth birthday ever. And on top of that, Jeff and I were not really a couple. He was romantic all the time. I think the romance is what I fell for. But we had never been on a date or anything. We never agreed to go steady or anything. I just went to his dorm and we talked a lot. We never did anything. We did not kiss. We did not hold hands. We just talked… Well, okay, this one time he did touch me sort of inappropriately, it was quite awkward, but I did not say anything because…" Erica paused and caught a glance of Chase's expression. "I know! I was stupid!"

"You shouldn't put yourself down like that…but, yeah, that was stupid of you."

"Anyway, I stopped going over to Jeff's, I stopped calling him back. I drove him somewhat crazy. He'd leave me all these notes and flowers…oh goodness, I realize now what my friends and family meant when they would call him a stalker…Anyway, I took some time off for 'me time.' I spent it being single and really thinking about my life. I mean, really, really, thinking. All the while Jeff tried to make me jealous with different girlfriends."

"But you said you had recently been with Jeff by the time the amulet activated." Chase said confused. "But now you're saying that you broke up at fifteen."

Erica bit her lip. "We got back together." Her eyes closed into a grimace. She opened them and peered at Chase. "It was a few months before I turned sixteen. I wanted to be with him. But I wanted my friends and dad back to. So I made a deal with everyone. I promised them all to balance my life. To never put one person over another. I am glad to report it worked. Everyone in my life, myself included, was happy. Oh, And, by this point Jeff had graduated. It was all great. Everything was fine." Erica paused, then bitterly added, "until Jillian showed up…"

"I see. Well…That it?" Chase asked and she nodded.

"So where do you see us going?"

"Erica…I am not like Jeff."

"I know that!" She said quickly. "I just worry…"

"I don't know where this going…" Chase paused, nervously. "I do like you, and I want to be with you. Committed and everything. I just…don't know….about…I…" He sighed. "I can't predict the future Erica, and neither can you. We can't talk about where this is going, because we don't _know_ where this is going."

"So…you just want to be a couple?"

"Yes."

"And that is all, right?"

"For now, yeah."

"You just…want to be together?"

"Yes, Erica."

"And you want to just jump into it, yes?" Erica asked.

"Yes. What's wrong with that?" Before Erica could speak Chase had wrapped his arms around the back of her head and kissed her.

"I never said anything was wrong with that." She said dreamily as he pulled away.

**Aw…I like the way this chap' ends. Ahem, on a side-note, there are only two chapters left. Granted, they're a lot longer then this one, so it will be like five thousand words, just all compacted into two chapters. Anyway, I really hope this vacation clears my heads so I can relax and finish these fics when I get back.**

**Now, (crosses fingers and starts chanting) two hundred reviews…two hundred reviews…come on…**


	28. The End

**Hey, so I know I said I was going to back on the twenty-eighth but all this stuff happened and the vacation was extended at the last minute! I tried to write while I was there, but I really just felt like relaxing the whole time. However, I did finish this story! So, enjoy the ending of ****The Fantasies of a Disturbed Mind:**

The next three weeks Erica and Chase spent growing closer and closer. In all honesty the two weren't acting very different than they had before. But questions were no longer awkward, and being together was a very pleasant experience. They decided not to tell any of the other palace inhabitants of their relationship, but that they wouldn't go out of their way to hide it.

Chase would still bug Erica about the amulet. And Erica would still refuse to hand it over. Really the only thing that had changed was that they now spent long periods of time together in the sanctuary. And for the two, the experience was wonderful. As a couple it seemed that everything in the world was perfect. That everything was fine and that there were no more problems.

But nothing ever lasts forever.

--

"Good morning Wuya." Chase said cheerily as he walked into the dining room for breakfast. Wuya grunted in response; she wasn't much a morning person. "The weather is nice today." Chase commented as he sat down to a bowl of cereal.

"It's just the weather, Chase, big deal." Wuya said annoyed as she took another bite of her omelet.

"Hmm...have you seen Erica this morning?" He asked while pouring a cup of milk.

"No!" Wuya snapped. "I haven't seen you're precious - oh, there she is." Chase turned and saw Erica at the entry way. Her hands were covering her eyes as she fumbled into the room.

"It is _so _bright..." Erica said as she placed her hands on the table, leaning against it; She held her eyes closed the whole time. "Did anyone turn this light up?"

"No..." Chase sighed and looked to her. "This vampire thing is getting pretty bad, isn't it?"

"It is absolutely dreadful. When I woke up today to turn on the light I screamed from the pain. It was just so intense. It was like white hot needles were plugged into my eyes." Erica opened up one eye for a quick peek then quickly shut it and groaned. "My deepest, sincerest sympathy goes out to anyone who experiences migraines; I certainly know how they feel now."

"Are you having other symptoms?" Chase asked, concerned.

"I think I scratched myself two nights ago in my sleep. I woke up sucking on a wound." She shuddered then leaned over the table so that her forehead was touching the edge. "It is so painful..."

"Will you stop moping!" Wuya shouted. "If you want it to end just activate the damn thing or hand it over!"

"Wuya, I thought we agreed not to push her." Chase said calmly.

"Oh please, Chase! Don't pretend that you don't ask her for it two times everyday. YOU are the one who has been pushing her." She retorted with venom. "And give me some credit, will you? You two act like I can't see you parading around the cave all love sick! It's disgusting!"

Chase opened his mouth to retort, but Erica got there first.

"Please stop arguing..." Erica groaned pulling at her hair.

"I'll stop arguing when you stop being stupid and give the amulet up." Wuya snapped.

"But I made a promise...I am starting to wonder if I should not have...and I cannot leave unless I break that promise…and though I wish to leave…I have no intention of breaking that promise."

"I don't think you mean that." Wuya said, and hesitated. "I think you LIKE it here. I don't think you actually want to leave. What I mean to say, is that the exit to this place isn't normal or anything, you can't just walk up to a door or anything, first you-"

"Wuya..." Chase said sternly but she talked over him.

"And you say that you want it, which if that's the case, you're half-way already, so it doesn't make sense that you-"

"Wuya! We agreed not to tell her-"

"SHUT UP CHASE! I don't care about agreements anymore! She hasn't left yet, so obviously she's to dumb to figure it out anyway! I could out right tell her how to leave and she still wouldn't understand!"

"Please do not insult my intelligence." Erica said and lifted her head up, but continued to shield her eyes. "Now...from what I understand...I have to want to leave, yes?"

"Yeah, and you also have to be-"

"SILENCE!" Chase bellowed, quieting the two girls. "Wuya, get out of my sight, I-"

"Gladly!" Wuya shouted getting up from the table, knocking over her glass, and storming away.

"I'll deal with you later." Chase finished in a mumble. "Now, Erica, we-" he started but once again was cut off.

"I am going to go lock myself in a dark room. Be back later." Erica departed clutching her head.

"Women." Chase grumbled and turned back to his breakfast, ignoring the large orange juice spill flowing from Wuya's shattered cup.

-later that day-

Chase had finished his mid-morning meditation and was heading his way to the kitchen. It wasn't lunch time yet, but he was hungry, and since it was his house he ate whenever he wanted to.

He was about to turn down the hallway that led to kitchen, when he saw it; The red door with gold trim. The door that would only appear when...

_She hasn't figured it out, has she..._ He thought, perplexed.

"It could just be Wuya." He said to himself. "The witch probably wanted some fresh air..." He tried to convince himself, but he couldn't even lie to himself. He reached for the handle and opened the door, stepping outside onto a small black terrace, over looking the grassy hills beneath. The wind blew at his face; it felt good, he had not been outside recently. And there was Erica. Gripping the ledge tightly, her back to him.

"I had to be ready. I had to be ready to leave before I could actually do it." She said slowly, not bothering to face him. "I was just thinking about Wuya's word…I thought about home and how long I have been here…how I am finally ready to return, and all of sudden…this door just…materialized…I had to be ready…" She repeated again, slightly dazed sounding.

"That's it exactly. If the palace doesn't think you're prepared to leave it keeps you locked in. Not the smartest idea, but that's magic for you." Chase nodded.

"You did not say anything about the creatures." She said slowly.

"About what?" Chase asked confused.

"Look more closely." Erica instructed, waving her hand over the ledge. Chase made his way to the ledge and gasped as he took a better view of the land.

The sunlight had been playing tricks on his eyes when he first looked, but now he could see what was there. The hills were covered in all sorts of creatures. White, majestic unicorns grazed the land. Tall, their heads covered in black cloth, stood dozens of vampires. Odd flying creatures darted across the sky. Beautiful women floated and bobbed up and down in the sea on the right; mermaids. Immense dragons bellowed in the distance. All creatures of every shape and size dotted the land. Some familiar from legends, others weren't even recognizable.

"Erica…you…?"

Erica turned around slowly to face Chase. In her hands she was holding the amulet. She appeared to be less pale then she usually was, but Chase thought that was due to the fact that she was in proper lighting.

"I activated it for you…I did it because…" She stopped and sighed, and turned around. "When I first stepped outside here…the light…I thought I had died, it was so painful. I thought 'this is the end, Erica, being roasted alive by the sun' but then I…the amulet…it spoke to me. And I just knew what to do…I activated it…it told me how. It said to say its name. So I did…and all of these creatures just showed up…and they have been looking to me…for orders. And when I activated it…the curse…it just…escaped me. I have never felt this good in my life…if that makes any sense at all…" She finished and turned back to him. Her eyes were teary, but she was smiling.

"I do not think my mother realized what she was asking me when I promised her to keep this. But I do remember one thing that she said…I had assumed that, like her and her mother before her, she wanted me to give the amulet to my daughter, and keep it in the family. But what I realized is that is not what I promised. I remember her words exactly." Erica hesitated, then continued to speak. "I also know, that she did not realize the full power of this jewel. It was never in her possession as long as it has been in mine. I don't think it spoke to her either, like it speaks to me."

"Erica, what-"

"Shh…let me finish, please. I promised my mom that I would give away the amulet when I was ready, and that I would also," Erica looked into Chase's eyes, "give it to someone I truly loved with all my heart. Take it Chase. It has belonged to you ever since we met." She pushed the amulet towards him. Slowly he took it and examined it in his hands.

"I do not ask you to reciprocate…I only wanted you to know." Erica turned her head and starred at the creatures below. "They are looking to you now…waiting for their king to command them. You have waited a long time for this, Chase…"

"Erica, I don't know what to say…you…You have taught me so much about the world. So much about myself. And I…" He turned his gaze to the amulet. He looked for a minute then squeezed it tightly. A bright light enveloped the land, and in the blink of an eye, the creatures were gone.

"Chase? What did you do?"

"I _have_ waited a long time for this. But…power is not the only thing in this world worth living for. And…no one deserves this much of it…"

"What are you talking about?" Erica asked, confused at his last words. Without warning, Chase turned toward the ocean where moments before the mermaids swam, and hurled the amulet out to sea. It floated in the water for a moment before disappearing beneath the surface.

"Chase! What did you do? If someone finds it…Someone else will have to deal with the curse!" Erica was panicking.

"If. If someone finds it. And if they do, do you think they will know what it really is? Like your ancestors, they'll just believe it to be jewelry. The xiaolin monks might find it…it would be safer with them... This is the best choice...for everyone." Chase told her.

"I…I do believe you are right." Erica said slowly. "I should know by now to trust your judgment." The two starred at each other for a moment. Then Chase put his hands on her shoulders.

"Erica…I have stolen you from the world for to long. I have been selfish…I have kept you all to myself, and never really bothered to think what you were missing. I can't say that I'm sorry…I have enjoyed nearly every moment of it…"

"And I, too." Erica whispered, returning the embrace.

Chase sighed deeply. "Wuya told me about a story she was reading. A romance story…similar to ours. And one of the lines of the book…it said, that if you love something…you should…set it free. And Erica I…well…I didn't think it was possible…but…Erica, I love you." Before she should respond, He kissed her deeply as white flash of light surrounded them both. When he pulled away they were standing in a black metal structure, and cold wind was biting at their faces.

"Where are we? This is not…we are not at the palace anymore…" Erica turned her head to the left and walked over to a ledge to look at the view. "Chase…are we…is this…the… Eiffel tower?" She gasped.

"Yes it is." He answered from behind her.

"You remembered…." Erica said, tears of happiness beginning to flow from her eyes as she watched the Parisians from below.

"I remember everything you told me…Well, France isn't to far from Italy…you're nearly home now." Chase said, sadly.

"But Chase…I…we…what about us? What will become of us?" Erica asked. She knew it was rude not to look at him while speaking, but she was unable to look away from the world below. "If you are taking me home…I mean, thank you for that, but…are you staying? Are you going back?"

"I am going back to China. So I guess…this is goodbye."

"But what about our relationship? I love you Chase…will-will we ever be together permanently?" He didn't answer. Erica finally tore her gaze away from the people below and turned around. "Chase!" She called, but there was no one there.

Sniffing and crying, slowly she walked back to where he had stood. On the floor was a small white piece of paper. Quickly, she picked it up. As his notes always were, it was signed "CY" and contained a very short, but very meaningful message;

_Someday._

Clutching the letter to her chest, Erica walked back to the ledge. The young girl turned her head towards the heavens and said to herself, very simply,

"I Am Free."

**--**

**The End**

**Aw...it's the end. I just love those ending words.****The story is all over now. I really have to say that writing and ending this story is very bittersweet. It was such a joy to write this, even through all the ups and downs, but I am SO glad that I have finally finished it...after all these months of planning and writing and editing and re-writing...Anyway, according to my statistics this is actually my most popular/successful story, so with that in mind, I certainly hope that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ending. It'd be even better if everyone loved it, but I think it would be impossible to please everyone. **

**On a side note; this chapter was actually supposed to be two chapters, but I realized I could lump it into one over-sized chapter. I was also going to write an epilogue that took place in the future and explained what had happened, but when I was planning the epilogue I realized I just didn't like it. I couldn't think of an epilogue that would provide the story with any closure. So I am choosing not to write the epilogue and leave the story as it is; at its sad but still hopeful ending. **

**Having said that, DON'T BUG ME to write a sequel or an aftermath or anything like that. This story is done. I am finished with these characters and this plot.**

**Ahem, I should probably wrap this up now. Well, I hope all of you enjoyed this story. I would like to thank all of you for putting up with me when I went through all those long breaks in writing and I would especially like to thank all of my faithful reviewers for being a constant source of encouragement. **

**All right...I have just one more thing to say; It's your last chance to review!!**


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